LOUISE  ROBINSON 


\/ 


"OfespTS 


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"AT  THE  OPEN  DOOR  is  the 

most  charming  reader  that  has 

fallen  into  my  hands  for  many 

a  long  day.   Prom  cover  to 

cover  it  is  a  v/ork  of  art. 

The  reading  matter  is  fully 

equal  to  the  illustrations.  •• 

P.  L.  HEATO]N-, 
Deputy  Supt.  of 
Schools, 

San  Francisco, Cal. 


•V — \ 


b^ 


■•c<i^■  .crt-^. 


Louise  Robinson 

First  Assistant  in  Charge,  Louisa  M.  Alcott  School 

Boston,  Massachusetts 


Illustrated  by  Clara  E.  Atwood 


Silver,  Burdett  &  Company 
Boston  New  York  Chicago 


FOR  EXAMINATION 

COMPLIMENTS  OP 

SILVER,  BURDETT  4;  COMPANY 


Copyright,    1913 
By  Silver,  Burdett  &  Company 


Gift 

K.D  .LINGUIST 

EDUCATION  DEPT, 


575832 


^^^mm,m 


Mary  and  the  Apple 

Mary  is  looking  up  at  the  tree. 

She  sees  a  bright  red  apple  up  there. 

It  is  so  high  that  Mary  can  not  get  it. 

She  calls  to  it  to  come  down. 

Mary  thinks  that  the  apple  is  asleep. 

"  Good  sun,  wake  the  apple,"  she  says. 

She  asks  a  bird  to  wake  it. 

The  bird  sings.     The  sun  shines. 

They  can  not  wake  the  apple. 

"Wind,  wind,  wake  the  apple,"  she  calls. 

The  wind  blows  and  blows. 

See   the   tree   shake !     See  the  apple 

swing !     Down  it  conies  ! 
Thank  you,  good  wind. 


What  a  fine  red  apple  you  are ! 

Yes,  I  was  on  the  old  tree  all  summer. 

Once  I  was  part  of  the  blossom. 

At  first  I  was  small  and  green. 

I  was  hard  too,  and  not  good  to  eat. 

The  mother  tree  took  good  care  of  me, 

I  hid  among  the  green  leayes. 

No  one  saw  me,  for  I  was  green  too. 

I  held  on  to  the  twig  with  my  stem. 

By  and  by  I  became  red  and  good  to  eat. 

6 


Mary  has  cut  the  apple ! 

See  the  little  brown  seed  babies. 

Mary  will  not  eat  the  brown  seeds. 

She  will  drop  them  on  the  ground. 

The  wind  may  blow  the  seeds  away. 

Are  you  tired,  little  seed? 

Yes,  I  think  I  will  rest  here. 

I  like  to  be  near  the  old  apple  tree. 

This  is  a  good  bed  for  a  little  seed. 

Come,  little  leaves,  and  keep  me  warm. 

Come,  soft  white  snow,  and  be  my 
blanket. 

I  will  sleep  until  the  warm  spring  time. 

Then  the  sun  will  shine,  and  I  shall 
push  my  roots  down  into  the  ground, 
and  grow  up  into  the  sunlight. 

I  shall  be  an  apple  tree  too,  some  day. 


The  Little  Gray  Squirrel 

This  is  a  little  gray  squirrel. 

He  is  tame.     He  will  sit  on  my  arm. 

We  saw  him  one  day  in  the  garden. 

We  put  nuts  on  the  window  ledge. 

At  first  he  was  afraid  to  come  to  us. 

See  his  beautiful  bushy  tail. 

He  holds  it  up  over  his  back. 

8 


I  like  to  see  him  crack  a  hard  nut. 
He  holds  it  in  his  paws,  sits  on  his 

hind   legs,  and  cracks   it  with  his 

sharp  teeth. 
He  puts  the  nuts  into  his  pockets,  too. 
Do  you  know  where  his  pockets  are? 
Where  do  you  live,  little  gray  squirrel? 
Can  I  find  your  house  in  the  garden? 
I  do  not  think  you  could  find  it. 
My  house  is  in  the  old  oak  tree. 
I  have  a  nest  in  the  big  tree's  trunk. 
That  is  where  I  put  some  of  my  nuts. 
Soon    the   cold    days   of   winter   will 

come.      Then  I  will  visit  you  again. 
My  baby  squirrels  must  stay  in  the 

soft,  warm  nest. 
My  baby  squirrels  have  a  bed  of  leaves. 

9 


Come  here,  Carlo.     You  must  not  bark. 
The  gray  squirrel  is  afraid  of  you. 
Poor  little  squirrel,  do  not  be  afraid. 
Carlo  will  not  hurt  you. 
He  may  bark,  but  he  can  not  catch 

you.     He  can  not  find   your   nest. 
The  squirrel  looks  at  me. 
He  wishes  to  see  if  Carlo  has  gone. 
See,  he  runs  up  my  arm,  and  eats  the 

nut  from  my  hand. 
There   are  more  nuts  in  my  pocket, 

little  squirrel. 
Can  the  squirrel  find  my  pocket? 
Yes,  there  he  goes  into  my  pocket! 
Take  all  the  nuts  you  can  find  to  your 

home   in   the   big   oak   tree,   little 

gray  squirrel. 

10 


By  the  Roadside 

Here  are  some  lovely  fall  flowers. 
They  grow  by  the  roadside. 
Goldenrod  is  a  beautiful  yellow  flower. 
He  nods  to  us  as  we  go  by. 
He  says,  "I  am  as  bright  as  the  sun." 

You  are  very  beautiful,  goldenrod. 

11 


You  make  the  dusty  roadside  bright. 
Baby  will  carry  you  home  to  mother. 
See,  baby,  see  these  lovely  blue  flowers. 
They  are  asters.    Some  asters  are  blue, 

and  some  are  white. 
Look,  baby,  see  this  pretty  brook. 
The  goldenrod  and  asters  are  here  too. 
They  are  growing  by  the  brookside. 
In  the  brook  we  can  see  more  asters. 
The  "asters   by  the   brookside  make 

asters  in  the  brook." 
Here  is  the  mother  milkweed  bush. 
See  these  funny,  dusty,  green  pods. 
I  wonder  what  is  inside  these  pods. 
Now,  baby,  let  us  open  a  milkweed  pod. 
Oh,  see  all  the  little  seed  babies! 
The  pod  is  a  pretty  cradle  for  them. 

12 


What  lovely  white  silk  dresses! 
Every  baby  seed  has  a  silk  dress. 
Little  seeds,  come  out  from  your  cradle. 
Shake  out  your  pretty  silk  dresses! 
Here  comes  the  wind.      Blow,  wind! 
Blow  the  little  milkweed  seeds. 


There  they  go,  baby,  up  in  the  sky. 
They  will  wish  to  rest  by  and  by. 
Then  they  will  drop  to  the  ground. 
They  will  sleep  all  winter  long. 
The  little  green  cradle  is  empty  now. 
The  seed  babies  have  left  the  cradle. 
See  how  soft  and  pretty  it  is. 
It  is  like  a  little  green  boat. 

13 


September 

The  goldenrod  is  yellow, 

The  com  is  turning  brown, 

The  trees  in  apple  orchards 

With  fruit  are  bending  down. 

The  gentian's  bluest  fringes 
Are  curling  in  the  sun; 

In  dusty  pods  the  milkweed 
Its  hidden  silk  has  spun. 

The  sedges  flaunt  their  harvest 
In  every  meadow  nook; 

And  asters  by  the  brookside 
Make  asters  in  the  brook. 

By  all  these  lovely  tokens 

September  days  are  here, 

With  summer's  best  of  weather, 

And  autumn's  best  of  cheer. 

H.  H. 

Copyright,  1873,  by  Little,  Brown  &  Company 

14 


What  Happens  in  the  Autumn 

Jack  Frost  opens  the  chestnut  burrs. 
The  squirrel  gathers  his  acorns. 
The  flowers  go  to  sleep  for  a  long  nap. 
The  leaves  turn  red,  brown,  and  yellow. 
The  farmer  picks  his  apples. 
The  bear  rolls  himself  up  in  a  ball. 
The  worms  sleep  in  the  hard  ground. 
Dogs  and  horses  put  on  warm  coats. 
Boys  and  girls  put  on  warm  coats  too. 
Father  buys  his  coal  for  winter. 
Now  the  men  are  roasting  chestnuts. 
The  fruit  stands  are  full  of  fruit. 
The  purple  grapes  are  on  the  yine. 
Boxes  of  grapes  are  in  the  stores. 

15 


People  have  put  away  their  straw  hats. 
There  are  no  watering  carts  to  be  seen. 
People  are  washing  their  windows. 
They  are  taking  out  the  window  screens. 
Soon  father  will  put  on  our  storm  door. 
The  wind  is  very  busy  in  the  autumn. 
He  whirls  the  leaves  high  into  the  air. 
The  farmer  is  raking  his  leaves. 
The  wind  will  help  make  a  big  bonfire 

of  the  leaves. 
The  wind  tells  the  birds  to  fly  south. 
He  sends  the  little  seeds  to  bed. 
He  dries  the  mud  in  the  streets. 
He  dries  the  clothes  on  the  line. 
He  turns  the  windmills  roimd. 
The  wind  dashes  the  waves  up  on  the 
rocks. 

16 


The  wind  blows  the  kites  up  high. 
Did  you  ever  hear  the  wind  call  ? 
A  little  boy  once  heard  the  wind  call. 
It  said,  "  Who,  who  are  you,  o-o-o  ?  " 
Last  night  some  one  knocked  on  my 

window. 
Was  it  you,  old  wind,  who  knocked  ? 

17 


The  Burr  Children 

There  were  once  three  burr  children. 
They  lived  on  an  old  burdock  bush. 
The  bush  grew  in  the  meadow. 
The  burdock  children  were  not  happy. 
They  wished  to  see  more  of  the  world. 
One  little  burr  said,  "  Let  us  fly  away." 
That  was  silly,  for  burrs  can  not  fly. 
The  mother  bush  said,  "  Wait  and  see." 
So  the  burrs  waited  on  the  old  bush. 
One  day  Joe  and  Kover  were  running 

along  the  road. 
Joe  had  been  to  the  store. 
When  they  came  to  the  meadow,  Joe 

whistled  to  Eover. 

18 


He  said,  "  Come,  Eover,  let  us  go  home 

the  shortest  way." 
So  they  crawled  under  the  fence. 
"  Catch  a  ride,"  said  the  mother  bush. 
"  Quick!     Now  you  can  see  the  world." 
So  some  burrs  clung  to  Joe's  coat. 
Others  held  fast  to  his  stockings. 
One  burr  stuck  to  the  top  of  his  cap. 
The  others  stole  a  ride  on  Eover's  back. 
They  went  far  from  their  old  home. 
Poor  Eover  was  not  very  happy. 

19 


When  he  got  home  he  barked  at  Joe. 
Joe  said,  "  Poor  dog,  come  here." 
Then  Joe  pulled  the  burrs  from  Eover. 
The  little  burrs  were  tired. 
They  were  glad  to  rest  on  the  ground. 
There  they  will  sleep  all  winter. 
They  will  sleep  until  the  spring. 
Then  some  of  the  little  burrs  will  grow 

to  be  burdock  bushes. 
They  will  have  little  burr  children. 
Perhaps  they  will  tell  them  stories  of 

their  trayels. 
They  may  say,  "  Long  ago  we  left  our 

home  in  the  old  meadow. 
"We  wanted  to  see  the  great  world. 

We  came  to  this   beautiful    sunny 

place,  and  made  a  new  home." 

20 


Thank  You,  Pretty  Cow 

Thank  you,  pretty  cow,  that  made 
Pleasant  milk  to  soak  my  bread, 
Every  day  and  every  night. 
Warm,  and  fresh,  and  sweet,  and  white. 

Do  not  chew  the  hemlock  rank. 
Growing  on  the  weedy  bank ; 
But  the  yellow  cowslip  eat. 
That  will  make  it  very  sweet. 

Where  the  purple  violet  grows. 

Where  the  bubbling  water  flows. 

Where  the  grass  is  fresh  and  fine. 

Pretty  cow,  go  there  and  dine. 

Jane  Taylor 


21 


The  Farmyard 
Mr.  Brown  is  a  farmer. 
He  liyes  in  that  white  house. 
Across  the  path  is  his  big  barn. 
There  are  six  cows  and  three  horses 

in  the  barn. 
The  white  horse  is  Ted. 
The  children  ride  on  Ted's  back. 
In  the  morning  Jack  drives  the  cows 

to  the  meadow. 
At  night  he  drives  them  home  again. 

22 


You  should  see  Jack  milk  the  cows. 

He  sits  on  a  little  stool. 

The  milk  splashes  into  the  tin  pail. 

How  sweet,  and  warm,  and  white  it  is! 

Have  you  been  eating  clover,  old  cow? 

What  do  I  see  near  the  big  maple  tree? 

That  is  Jack's  turkey. 

When  the  turkey  sees  Jack,  he  says, 

"  Gobble,  gobble." 
See  the  turkey  run  for  the  corn! 
You  can  not  have  all  the  corn,  turkey. 
Some  of  the  corn  is  for  Jack's  hens. 
Jack  has  six  white  hens  and  four  black. 
They  lay  fresh  eggs  for  him  every  day. 
Jack  gives  the  eggs  to  his  mother. 
Now  let  us  go  into  the  big  barn,  and 

see  the  hay  for  the  horses  and  cows. 

23 


Have  you  an  apple  orchard,  Mr.  Brown? 
Yes,  my  orchard  is  behind  the  big  barn. 
There  are  not  many  apples  there  now. 
We  packed  them  away  in  barrels. 
We  put  the  barrels  into  the  big  wagon. 
Old  Ted  trotted  down  the  road. 
At  last  we  came  to  the  railroad. 
We  sent  the  apples  to  market. 
Where  are  your  pigs,  Mr.  Brown? 
What!     Haven't    you   seen  my  baby 

pigs  and  the  old  mother  pig? 
They  are  in  the  pen  behind  the  barn. 
Jack  will  show  you  the  ten  baby  pigs. 
You  will  laugh  at  their  curly  tails. 
The  mother  pig  is  proud  of  her  babies. 
She  wishes  you  to  scratch  her  back. 

24 


The  Birds  in  Autumn 

The  birds  are  flying  to  the  southland. 
It  is  warm  in  the  sunny  southland. 
By  and  by,  it  will  be  cold  here. 
What  a  long  jom^ney,  little  birds! 
Do  you  not  get  yery  tired  on  the  way? 
Yes,  we  have  a  long  journey,  little  boy. 
We  travel  many,  many  miles. 
Sometimes  we  stop  to  rest. 
We  have  a  leader  to  show  us  the  way. 
We  follow  him  so  we  do  not  get  lost. 

26 


Oh,  robin,  are  you  going  away  too? 

Are  you  going  to  the  southland? 

Please  stay  here.     I  will  feed  you. 

I  can  not  stay  with  you,  little  boy. 

Once  a  robin  did  not  go  to  the  south- 
land, but  when  the  north  wind 
began  to  blow  he  had  no  home. 

His  nest  had  blown  away. 

He  flew  to  the  barn  up  under  the 
eaves  where  he  tried  to  keep  warm. 

The  north  wind  blew  and  blew. 

Kobin  hid  his  head  under  his  wing. 

Pigeons,  do  you  go  to  the  southland? 

No,  Ned,  we  are  big  and  strong. 

See  us  walk.     We  are  too  big  to  hop. 

If  we  stay  all  winter,  will  you  feed  us? 

We  can  not  sing.     We  say  "  Coo-coo." 

27 


The  Indians  tell  a  story  about  the  birds. 

Once  there  were  no  trees. 

Wherever   God   touched  the  earth,  a 

tree  sprang  up. 
In    autumn,    the    leaves    turned   red, 

yellow,  and  brown. 
Then  they  sank  down  to  the  earth. 
But  God  did  not  wish  them  to  die. 
So    he     touched     each     bright     leaf 

and   said,  "Live   and   be   beautiful 

always." 
Then  each  leaf  became  a  bird. 
The  brown  oak  leaves  became  sparrows. 
The  elm  leaves  became  yellow  birds. 
The  red  maple  leaves  became  robins. 
This  is  why  the  birds  love  the  trees. 
It  is  why  they  build  upon  the  branches. 

28 


What  Jack  Found 

One  day  Jack  went  into  the  garden. 
He  found  something  large  and  round 

growing  on  a  vine. 
He   was    going    to    carry    it    to    his 

mother. 
On  the  way  Jack  met  his  father. 
"What  is  that  in  your  arms?"  he  said. 
"A  pumpkin,  father,"  said  Jack. 
"Let   us    carry   the   pumpkin   to    the 

barn,"  said  Mr.  Brown. 
So  Jack  carried  it  into  the  barn. 

29 


What  is  that  on  the  milk  stool? 
See  the  great  eyes,  nose,  and  mouth! 
What  great  teeth!     Will  it  bite  us? 
Oh,  no,  don't  you  know  what  it  is? 
It  is  a  Jack-o'-lantern.     Jack  and  his 

father  made  it  from  the  pumpkin. 
They  cut  a  hole  in  the   top  of   the 

pumpkin  and  took  out  all  the  seeds. 
They  dug  out  the  inside,  cut  two  holes 

for  eyes,  and  one  hole  for  the  nose 

of  the  Jack-o'-lantern. 
Then  Jack  made  the  mouth  and  Mr. 

Brown  made  the  big  teeth. 
Inside,  there  is  a  burning  candle. 
Jack   will   make   the    Jack-o'-lantern 

peep  into  the  window. 
Mother  will  see  the  funny  face. 

30 


What  the  Brownies  Did  One  Thanksgiving 

Did  you  ever  see  a  brownie? 
They  wear  brown  suits  and  red  caps. 
The  brownies  live  out  of  doors. 
They  sleep  in  a  hole  in  the  tree. 
When  it  rains  they  sit  under  toadstools. 
Did  you  ever  hear  the  leaves  rustle? 
The  brownies   may  be  playing  hide- 
and-seek. 
Once  there  was  a  selfish  old  farmer. 
He  had  all  the  food  he  could  eat. 
He  had  good  clothes  and  a  good  bed. 
He  would  not  share  his  good  things. 
Not  far  away  lived  a  poor  old  woman. 
She  had  to  work  hard  to  get  food. 

31 


Thanksgiving  day  was  coming. 
The  brownies  had  not  forgotten  it. 
They  peeped  in  the  farmer's  window. 
There  sat  old  Farmer  Wood,  fast  asleep. 
He  did  not  see  the  brownies. 


They  opened  the  window  and  danced 

around  the  farmer's  chair. 
Two  little  brownies  ran  up  his  arm. 
They  whispered  something  in  his  ear. 
Then  they  ran  and  hid  in  the  barn. 
By  and  by  Farmer  Wood  awoke. 
"Who  has  nothing  to  eat?"  he  said. 

32 


"How  can  I  help  that?" 

"  Carry  a  turkey  down  there  to-morrow." 

"Carry  some  other  good  things  from 
your  barn,"  said  a  little  voice. 

Farmer  Wood  could  see  no  one. 

"I'll  think  about  it,"  said  the  farmer. 

The  next  day  he  was  up  early. 

He  filled  a  basket  with  apples. 

He  found  a  big  pumpkin  and  some 
nuts.     He  put  these  into  a  wagon. 

"Don't  forget  the  turkey,"  said  a  small 
voice  from  the  hay. 

In  went  a  big,  fat  turkey.  Then  Far- 
mer Wood  drove  out  of  the  barn, 
and  down  the  hill. 

The  brownies  climbed  into  the  wagon 
and  danced  on  the  turkey's  back. 

33 


Bedtime 

Autumn  is  the  sleepy  time  of  the  year. 
The  long  night  of  winter  is  coming. 
The  flowers  sleep  under  the  snow. 
The  leaves  sleep  on  the  ground. 
In  the  meadow  the  oak  tree  sleeps. 
In  the  oak  the  baby  squirrel  sleeps. 
Kitty  sleeps  hear  the  kitchen  stove. 
Carlo  sleeps  in  his  house  in  the  yard. 
In  the  barn  is  the  mother  horse  and 

her  colt  on  their  bed  of  soft  hay. 
Up  under  the  eaves  is  a  pigeon  with 

his  head  under  his  wing. 

34 


The  frogs  hear  the  sleepy  call,  down 

deep  in  their  bed  of  mud. 
The  fish  too  are  resting. 
The  rabbit  makes  a  hole  in  the  ground. 
He  does  not  often  come  out. 
In  the  woods  there  is  a  cave  where  the 

big  brown  bear  is  curled  up  asleep. 
He  will  sleep  until  the  spring. 
He  will  be  very  hungry  then. 
The  baby  pigs  are  in  a  pen  under  the 

barn,  asleep  beside  their  mother. 
My  little  yellow  bird  sleeps  in  his  cage. 
He  sits  on  his   perch  and   tucks   his 

head  under  his  wing. 
When  is  sleepy  time  for  children? 
At   night   when   mother   sings   them 

to  dreamland. 

35 


Sweet  and  Low 

Sweet  and  low,  sweet  and  low, 

Wind  of  the  western  sea; 
Low,  low,  breathe  and  blow. 

Wind  of  the  western  sea! 
Over  the  rolling  waters  go. 
Come  from  the  dying  moon,  and  blow, 

Blow  him  again  to  me; 
While  my  little  one,  while  my  pretty  one,  sleeps. 

Sleep  and  rest,  sleep  and  rest. 

Father  will  come  to  thee  soon; 
Rest,  rest,  on  mother's  breast. 

Father  will  come  to  thee  soon; 
Father  will  come  to  his  babe  in  the  nest. 
Silver  sails  all  out  of  the  west, 

Under  the  silver  moon; 
Sleep,  my  little  one,  sleep,  my  pretty  one,  sleep. 

Alfred  Tennyson 
36 


'^^^S: 


mi&m^jrm,:z.^z^ 


Stories  for  the  Winter 


Out  of  the  bosom  of 

the  Air, 
Out  of  the  cloud-folds 

of    her    garments 

shaken, 
Over    the    woodlands 

brown  and  bare. 
Over  the  harvest-fields 

forsaken, 
Silent,    and   soft,   and 

slow. 
Descends  the  snow. 


onoi 


The  Little  Snowflakes 

How  do  you  do,  little  children? 
I  am  Snowflake.    These  are  my  friends. 
We  have  come  a  long  way  to  visit  you. 
We  left  our  cloud  home  last  night. 
In  the  clouds  we  were  raindrops. 
All  night  we  were  falling,  falling. 
It  was  a  long  journey  to  the  earth. 
On  the  way  we  met  Jack  Frost. 
He  kissed  us  as  we  went  by. 
He  gave  us  our  pretty  white  dresses. 
We  were  no  longer  raindrops. 
We  came  to  keep  the  seeds  warm. 
We  will  make  coasting  for  you. 
We  fell  softly.     No  one  heard  us. 

39 


The  children  saw  us  in  the  morning. 
We  were  coming  from  the  sky. 
They  clapped  their  hands. 
"Mother,  it  is  snowing!"  they  said. 
I  saw  some  one  looking  at  us. 
The  boy  looked  just  like  you,  Tommy. 
We  like  to  peep  in  at  the  windows. 
Please  do  not  take  us  into  the  house. 
If  you  take  us  into  your  kitchen,  we 

shall  cry. 
Did  you  ever  see  a  snowflake  cry? 
What  do  you  think  we  did  last  night? 
You  were  asleep  and  did  not  see  us. 
Some  of  us  went  to  the  meadow. 
Some  of  us  coyered  the  pine  trees. 
We  made  the  old  fence  all  white. 
We  made  the  pump  look  like  a  ghost. 

40 


Mary  can  not  get  to  the  woodshed. 
John  can  not  get  to  the  barn. 
People  do  not  like  us  on  the  sidewalk. 
We  have  covered  all  the  paths. 
Get  your  shovels,  boys.     Go  to  work. 
The  wind  will  blow  us  everywhere. 
Sometimes  the  wind  frightens  us. 
Then  we  all  fall  in  a  big  drift. 
One  day  we  made  a  drift  near  the  barn. 
Ned  said,  "Oh,  see  the  big  drift!" 
He  jumped  on  us.     Down  he  sank. 
Some  of  us  hid  in  his  rubber  boots. 
We  did  not  stay  there  long. 


41 


Jack  Frost 

Does  Jack  Frost  live  in  your  town? 
No,  but  he  comes  to  visit  us  in  winter. 
He  conies  in  the  night  time. 
Have  you  ever  seen  Jack  Frost? 
No,  but  I  know  when  he  comes. 
I  see  his  steps  upon  the  grass. 
When  the  sun  wakes,  he  is  afraid. 
He  runs  away  as  fast  as  he  can  go. 
Jack  Frost  likes  to  play  tricks. 
He  bites  little  boys  on  the  toes,  and 

little  girls  on  the  nose. 
He  pinches  children's  cheeks. 
Jack  Frost  can  not  play  all  the  time. 
He  has  work  to  do  just  as  you  have. 

42 


Jack  Frost  is  a  carpenter. 

He  builds  a  roof  for  the  brook,  and  for 

the  ponds  and  rivers  too. 
He  makes  the  snowflakes. 
He  paints  frost  pictures  for  us  on  the 

window  pane. 
When  we  sleep,  Jack  Frost  paints. 
He  paints  wonderful  flowers  and  trees. 
Sometimes   he  paints  tall  mountains, 

and    church    towers,    and    houses, 

and  fences  covered  with  snow. 
How  can  you  paint  so  well,  Jack  Frost? 
How  can  you  see  to  paint  at  night? 
Do  you  paint  by  the  light  of  the  moon? 
We  are  glad  you  put  the  pond  to  sleep. 
Now  Ned  and  I  can  go  skating. 
The  men  can  cut  ice  from  the  river. 

43 


You  make  us  shiver  and  shake,  Jack 
Frost,  but  we  are  glad  you  came 
to  see  us. 

In  the  spring  you  will  go  back  to  the 
northland. 


44 


The  Snowman 

See  what  the  boys  made  last  night. 
They  rolled  a  snowball  on  the  ground. 
It  gathered  snow  until  it  was  large. 
Then  they  made  a  smaller  snowball. 
They  put  this  on  top  of  the  first  ball. 
A  still  smaller  one  made  the  head. 
Two  sticks  made  the  snowman's  arms. 
He  has  Tom's  little  old  coat  on. 
The  snowman  stands  out  on  the  lawn. 
People  laugh  at  him  when  they  go  by. 
He  has  grandpa's  cane  in  his  hand. 
That  old  hat  is  grandpa's  too. 
The  snowman  is  taller  than  the  boys. 
How  did  the  boys  make  his  eyes? 

45 


I  know,  they  used  two  pieces  of  coal. 
His  eyes  look  as  if  lie  were  surprised. 
Jack  Frost  tried  to  freeze  him. 
The  snowman  was  not  at  all  afraid. 
He  stood  very  still,  and  did  not  speak. 
North  wind  has  blown  your  hat,  snow- 
man.    Put  your  hat  on  straight. 
Let  us  throw  snowballs  at  his  hat. 
Do  you  think  you  can  hit  it? 
See  if  you  can  hit  his  hat,  girls. 
I  do  not  think  I  can,  but  I  will  try. 
Hurrah!  Nellie  has  knocked  it  off! 
Here  comes  Carlo.     What  will  he  do? 
Carlo  looks  at  the  snowman. 
He  says,  "Are  you  grandpa?" 
"No,  I  do  not  think  you  are. 
"You  do  not  belong  in  this  yard." 

46 


Then  Carlo  barks  at  the  snowman. 
Come  away,  Carlo.      The  snowman  is 

not  afraid  of  you. 
He  is  not  afraid  of  our  snowballs. 
He  is  only  afraid  of  the  sun. 
Poor  snowman,  the  sun  makes  you  sad. 
When  the  sun  comes  you  will  grow 

thinner,  and  thinner,  and  thinner. 
Your  hat  and  coat  will  fall  off. 
Your  cane  will  drop  from  your  hand. 
Your  eyes  will  drop  from  your  head. 
No  wonder  you  are  afraid  of  the  sun! 

47 


Winter  Song 

Hurrah  for  the  jolly  old  Winter! 

The  king  of  the  seasons  is  he; 

Though  his  breath  is  cold  and  icy, 

His  heart  is  full  of  glee. 

He  piles  up  the  beautiful  snowflakes 

On  the  apple  trees  bare  and  brown, 

And  laughs  when  the  north  wind  shakes  them, 

Like  a  shower  of  blossoms  down. 

Hurrah  for  the  jolly  old  Winter! 
He  shouts  at  the  door  by  night: 
"Come  out  where  the  ice  is  gleaming 
Like  steel  in  the  cool  moonlight. " 
Like  swallows  over  the  water 
The  skaters  merrily  go : 
There's  health  in  the  blustering  breezes, 
And  joy  in  the  beautiful  snow. 

Emily  Huntington  Miller 
48 


Winter  Fun 

Kate  has  a  fine  new  sled  named  "Dart." 
"Dart"  is  a  good  name  for  a  sled, 
Kate  loves  to  coast  down  a  steep  hill. 
The  sled  goes  fast.     Kate  is  not  afraid. 
Jip  likes  to  coast  with  Kate. 
He  thinks  it  is  fun  to  go  fast. 
He  barks  at  the  girls  and  boys. 
He  rolls  in  the  snow. 
Jip  helps  Kate  pull  her  sled  up  hill. 
He  holds  the  rope  in  his  mouth. 
When  Jip  is  not  looking,  Kate  jumps 
on  the  sled.     Poor  old  Jip! 

49 


Dick  likes  to  skate. 

His  father  gave  him  these  fine  skates. 

He  had  a  hard  time  at  first. 

He  tried  to  stand,  but  he  kept  falling. 

The  other  boys  helped  him. 

They  showed  him  how  to  skate. 

He  can  skate  all  over  the  pond  now. 

Dick  says  that  skating  is  like  flying. 

Look  out  for  the  holes,  Dick! 

Don't  fall  through  the  ice. 

Mother  made  a  bag  for  the  skates. 

Dick  takes  good  care  of  his  skates. 

He  keeps  them  dry  so  that  they  will 

not  rust. 
Dick  plays  a  game  with  the  boys. 
He  has  a  long  stick  in  his  hand. 
Do  you  know  how  he  plays  the  game? 

50 


Dick  and  I  go  sleighing. 

We  put  on  warm  coats  and  mittens. 

Three  of  us  can  sit  on  the  back  seat. 

Father  puts  a  big  fin-  robe  over  us. 

He  tucks  us  all  up  snug  and  warm. 

Mother  sits  on  the  seat  with  father. 

Do  you  know  where  we  are  going? 

We  are  going  over  the  river. 

The  river  is  asleep  now. 

We  go  through  the  wood.     The  trees 

are  covered  with  snow. 
The  wind  blows.     Trot  fast,  old  horse! 
Jack  Frost  paints  our  cheeks. 
We  hide  under  the  big  fur  robe. 
Hear  the  sleigh  bells  jingle! 
Now  we  are  out  of  the  wood. 
Hurrah!     I  see  grandmother's  house. 

51 


Santa  Claus  Land 

Santa  Claus  lives  in  the  northland 
I  went  to  visit  him  early  one  winter. 
Santa  Claus  took  me  into  his  workshop. 
I  saw  tops  and  dolls  and  sleds. 
I  saw  books  and  kites  and  games. 
Mrs.  Claus  was  making  dolls'  dresses. 
Santa  Claus  was  sharpening  skates. 
"Where  are  your  reindeer,  Santa?" 
"My  reindeer  are  resting  in  the  barn. 


62 


"This  is  their  playtime.    When  winter 

conies  we  travel  many  miles. 
"I  shall  soon  start  on  my  journey." 
"What  is  in  that  big  book,  Santa?" 
"In  this  book  are  the  names  of  good 

boys  and  girls. 
"I  have  presents  for  them  all." 
I  opened  the  book  and  read,   "John, 

Fred,  William,  Harold,  and  Eichard." 
I  read,   "Nellie,   Annie,   Mary,    Kate, 

Florence,  Elizabeth,  and  Jennie." 
There  were  many  pages  in  the  book. 
"What    are    you     doing     now,    Mrs. 

Glaus?"   I   said. 
"I  am  sewing  up  Santa's  pack." 
"Good!"  said  Santa.     "I  almost  lost  a 

book  through  that  hole  last  year." 

53 


"Your   pack   must    be    heavy,    Santa 

Claus.      Do  you  carry  all  the  toys 

in  your  pack?" 
"Oh, no,  I  fill  my  sleigh  too. 
"I  couldn't  get  down  the  chimney  if 

my  pack  were  full. 
"I  should  stick  on  the  way  down.    Then 

the  children  might  catch  me. 
"When  the  stockings  are  filled^  I  go 

up  the  chimney. 
"That  is  not  so  easy  as  going  down. 
"My  reindeer  are  on  the  roof  waiting. 
"I  jump  into  my  sleigh  and  away  we  go, 

down  one  roof  and  up  another. 
"When  Christmas  is  over,  I  go  home. 
"Mrs.  Santa  Claus  is  waiting  for  me. 
"We  sit  by  the  fire  and  eat  supper." 

54 


My  Dolly 
Is  she  not  a  beautiful  dolly? 
I  found  her  in  my  stocking. 
When  I  awoke  she  was  looking  at  me. 
Mother  says  that  Santa  brought  her. 
I  thought  he  would  give  me  a  dolly. 
Before  Christmas  I  wrote  to  Santa. 
I  said,  "Dear  Santa  Claus,  please  give 

me  a  dolly. 
"A  doll  would  make  me  very  happy." 
Father  carried  the  letter  to  town. 
He  put  it  into  the  letter  box. 
I  said,  "Will  Santa  get  my  letter?" 
Father  said,  "Wait  until  Christmas." 
I  could  not  go  to  sleep  that  night. 

55 


I  watched  my  stocking  a  long  time. 

I  watched  to  see  Santa  Clans. 

I  mnst  have  gone  to  sleep. 

Well,  dolly,  tell  me  abont  Santa  Clans. 

Did  yon  come  in  his  sleigh  last  night? 

What  is  yonr  name,  dolly  dear? 

Yon  have  no  name?     That  is  too  bad! 

Yonr  name  is  Rnth,  dolly  dear. 

What  pretty  cnrly  hair  yon  have! 

Yonr  eyes  are  as  bine  as  the  sky. 

Yon  mnst  be  very  tired,  Enth. 

Was  it  a  long  jonrney  from  the  cold 

northland? 
Come,  I  will  sing  yon  to  sleep. 
See,  Rnth  is  asleep  now. 
I  will  pnt  her  on  my  bed. 
I  will  pnt  a  blanket  over  her. 

56 


When  she  awakes,  I  will  put  on  her 
dress,  her  hood,  and  her  fur  coat. 

We  will  go  up  the  street  to  see  Mary. 

Euth  can  not  walk.     I  will  carry  her. 

Who  is  crying?     Oh,  Euth  is  awake. 

Come,  Euth,  I  will  dress  you. 

We  will  go  over  to  Mary's  house. 

Here  we  are  at  Mary's  house. 

Good  morning,  Mary.  See  what  I 
found  in  my  stocking. 

Is  she  not  the  dearest  dolly? 

We  have  come  to  visit  you. 


Good  Night 

Little  baby,  lay  your  head 

On  your  pretty  cradle  bed; 

Shut  your  eye-peeps,  now  the  day 

And  the  light  are  gone  away; 

All  the  clothes  are  tucked  in  tight; 

Little  baby  dear,  good  night. 

Yes,  my  darling,  well  I  know 
How  the  bitter  wind  doth  blow; 
And  the  winter's  snow  and  rain 
Patter  on  the  windowpane; 
But  they  can  not  come  in  here, 
To  my  little  baby  dear. 

For  the  window  shutteth  fast, 

Till  the  stormy  night  is  past; 

And  the  curtains  warm  are  spread 

Roundabout  her  cradle  bed; 

So  till  morning  shineth  bright, 

Little  baby  dear,  good  night. 

Jane  Taylor 
58 


Tom's  Christmas  Party 

Tom  Clark  gave  a  Christinas  party. 
He  invited  six  poor  children. 
Tom  wished  to  make  them  happy. 
He  had  a  little  money  of  his  own. 
He  bought  a  present  for  each  child. 
Father  gave  him  a  Christmas  tree. 
Tom,  mother,  and  father  trimmed  it. 
They  put  strings  of  pop  corn  and  red 

berries  on  it. 
When  it  was  trimmed,  Tom  was  happy. 
He  said,  "What  will  the  children  say?" 
At  six  o'clock  the  door  bell  rang.    Tom 

ran  to  the  door.     "Come  in,"  he  said. 
"Merry  Christmas!  Merry  Christmas!" 

59     • 


"Merry  Christmas!"  said  the  children. 
They  took  off  their  hats  and  coats. 
Tom's  mother  shook  hands  with  them. 
"Merry  Christmas!"  she  said.     "Tom 

will  take  you  to  the  parlor." 
The  children  clapped  their  hands  and 

shouted  when  they  saw  the  tree. 
It  was  covered  with  tiny  candles. 
The  candles  were  like  twinkling  stars. 
Just  then  the  doorbell  rang  again. 
Tom  said,  "  I  think  that  is  Aunt  Mary." 
He  went  to  the  door  and  opened  it. 
It  was  some  one  in  a  big  fur  coat! 
He  had  a  beard  as  white  as  the  snow! 
His  coat  was  covered  with  ashes ! 
He  went  right  into  the  parlor. 
He  shook  hands  with  all  the  children. 

60 


Then  he  took  the  presents  off  the  tree. 
Mary  had  a  doll  with  long  curls. 
Ned  had  a  top  that  could  hum. 
Kate  had  some  red  mittens  and  a  book. 
Fred  had  a  new  cap  and  a  sharp  knife. 
Dick  had  a  game  and  a  pair  of  skates. 
Rose  had  a  string  of  blue  beads. 
Then  they  went  into  the  dining  room. 
There  was  ice  cream  and  cake  for  all. 
Fred  gave  his  ice  cream  to  Santa  Claus. 
"It  is  too  cold  for  me,"  said  Santa. 
At    nine    o'clock    the    children    went 
home.      "We    have    had    a    happy 


time,"  they  said, 


61 


A  Visit  to  Eskimo  Land 

Let  us  go  to  the  cold  northlancL 
We  shall  find  no  trees  there. 
There  is  snow  as  far  as  we  can  see. 
The  sun  does  not  shine  for  weeks. 
Is  it  always  dark  in  this  country?* 
The  stars  help  to  make  it  bright,  and 
there  are  wonderful  lights  in  the  sky. 
The  Eskimos  live  in  this  far-away  land. 
They  build  houses  of  ice  and  snow. 
Shall  we  go  into  an  Eskimo  house? 
We  crawl  in  on  our  hands  and  knees. 
Around  the  room  is  a  platform  of  ice. 
It  is  covered  with  deerskins. 
It  is  the  Eskimo's  bed,  chair,  and  table. 

62 


What  is  in  the  middle  of  the  floor? 
That  is  a  bone  dish  filled  with  oil. 
It  is  the  Eskimo's  lamp  and  stove. 
He  cooks  his  food  over  this  lamp. 
When  the  Eskimo  is  dressed,  he  looks 

like  a  big  white  bear. 
Men,  women,  and  children  dress  alike. 
Mother   Eskimo  carries   her   baby   in 

the  hood  of  her  coat. 
The  baby  is  warm  and  happy  there. 


63 


The  Eskimo  boy  does  not  go  to  school. 
He  must  learn  to  drive  the  dogs. 
He  begins  to  learn  when  he  is  little. 
The  dogs  are  little,  too. 
He  hitches  the  dogs  to  his  sledge. 
At  first  he  drives  only  one  or  two. 
He  runs  by  the  side  of  his  sledge. 
He  drives  about  near  his  home. 
When  he  is  a  man  he  drives  many  dogs. 
He  cracks  his  whip,  and  away  he  goes, 

for  miles  over  the  frozen  snow! 
Eskimo  boys  and  girls  love  to  coast. 
Their  ice  sleds  go  down  hill  very  fast. 
The  boys  like  to  stick  reindeer  horns 

into  the  snow,  coast  down  the  hill, 

and  try  to  hit  the  horns  with  their 

arrows. 

64 


St.  Valentine's  Day 

Long  ago,  there  lived  a  good  man 
whose  name  was  Valentine. 

He  loved  his  people  doarly. 

If  any  were  sick,  he  took  care  of  them. 

If  any  were  poor,  he  gave  them  clothes. 

If  any  were  hungry,  he  gave  them  food. 

All  the  people  knew  and  loved  him. 

The  children  would  run  to  meet  him. 

After  many  years  the  good  man  be- 
came too  old  to  go  to  visit  his  people. 

So  he  sent  them  messages  of  love, 
called  "valentines." 

After  he  died,  the  good  old  man  was 
called  "Saint  Valentine." 

65 


Saint  Valentine's  birthday  is  the  four- 
teenth of  February. 

We  send  valentines  on  that  day. 

A  valentine  carries  love  to  some  one. 

In  February,  we  are  thinking  of 
spring,  with  its  flowers  and  birds. 

Flowers,  and  birds,  and  butterflies  are 
on  the  valentines. 

Harry  made  his  mother  a  valentine. 

He  tried  hard  to  make  it  beautiful. 

He  cut  a  nest  from  brown  paper. 

Then  he  cut  five  eggs  from  blue  paper. 

He  put  the  eggs  into  the  nest. 

Over  the  nest  Harry  wrote  "A  nest 
full  of  love." 

Under  each  egg  he  wrote  a  message. 

He  put  the  valentine  on  the  doorstep. 

67 


He  rang  the  bell,  and  ran  away  and  hid. 
Mother  came  to  the  door.     She  said, 

"  Why,  here  is  a  valentine  for  Harry." 
Then  she  saw  her  own  name  on  it. 
Harry  was  peeping  in  at  the  window. 
He  saw  his  mother  smile. 
Then  he  saw  her  peep  under  the  eggs. 
Harry  had  written  under  the  eggs. 
The  first  message  was,  "I  love  you." 
The  second  was,  "You  are  sweet." 
The  third  was,  "I  send  you  a  kiss." 
The  fourth  was,  "My  good  wishes." 
The  fifth  message  was,  "Will  you  be 

my  yalentine?" 
Mother  knew  who  sent  the  valentine. 


Waiting 

In  the  woods  I  walked  to-day; 

The  snow  was  deep  and  white, 
It  covered  all  the  tiny  flowers, 

It  hid  the  ferns  from  sight. 

I  hunted  for  the  little  brook 
That  sang  in  summer  days. 

But  not  an  echo  of  its  song 

Eang  through  the  woodland  ways. 

At  last  I  found  the  fettered  stream 
And  broke  the  ice  so  clear, 

And  heard  the  tinkling  water  say, 
"Tm  hidden,  but  Tm  here." 


69 


On  the  hill  I  walked  to-day; 

The  sky  was  dim  and  gray, 
I  hunted  for  the  apple  tree 

That  bloomed  so  fair  last  May. 

There  were  no  blossoms  on  its  boughs, 

No  bees  around  it  went, 
And  through  the  chilly  winter  air 

No  fragrant  breath  was  sent. 

But  listening  by  the  gray  old  trimk 

I  heard  a  whisper  clear, 
"  The  leaves  and  buds  and  blossoms  bright 

Are  hidden,  but  they're  here." 

So  on  the  hill  and  in  the  wood. 
Though  hidden  now  in  snow, 

I  know  the  flowers  will  bloom  again. 
The  little  brooks  will  flow. 

By  permission,  Educational  Publishing  Company. 

70 


Maple  Sugar 

The  maple  trees  have  been  sleeping 
all  winter.  Most  of  the  sap  has  been 
down  in  the  roots.  In  the  early  spring, 
the  sap  travels  upward,  and  the  tree 
awakes. 

The  maple  tree  does  not  need  all 
its  sap.     It  will  give  some  of  it  to  us. 

We  boys  once  visited  a  maple  sugar 
camp.  There  were  ten  of  us.  We 
went  to  the  camp  in  the  early  spring 
before  the  snow  was  off  the  ground. 

The  maple  woods  we  visited  were 
two  miles  away.  Mr.  Eeed  was  the 
owner  of  the  sugar  camp. 

We  went  to  the  camp  in  an  old  cart. 

71 


When  we  reached  the  woods,  we  saw 
little  tin  spouts  in  the  tree  trunks. 
The  men  had  bored  holes  in  the  tree 
trunks  and  put  spouts  into  them. 
Upon  these  spouts  pails  were  hanging. 

72 


As  we  got  near  the  trees,  we  could 
hear  the  drip,  drip,  drip  of  the  sap 
falling  into  the  pails.  The  men  told 
us  that  it  took  a  whole  day  to  get  a 
pail  full. 

When  the  pails  were  full,  the  men 
emptied  the  sap  into  a  barrel,  and 
carried  it  to  the  sugar  house. 

There  it  was  poured  into  a  large 
pan,  set  over  a  fire  to  boil. 

Mr.  Eeed  told  the  boys  to  stir  the 
sap  so  that  it  would  not  burn.  When 
it  began  to  thicken,  the  syrup  was 
poured  into  another  pan  and  boiled  till 
it  became  hard  to  stir. 

"Now  is  the  time  to  fill  your  spoons 

with  hot  syrup,"  said  Mr.  Eeed. 

73 


The  boys  carried  their  spoonfuls  out 
of  the  log  house  and  dropped  the 
syrup  on  the  snow.  It  grew  hard 
and  cold.     It  tasted  like  candy. 

Mr.  Eeed  showed  us  how  to  make 
pictures  in  the  snow  with  the  hot 
syrup.  By  dropping  it  carefully,  we 
made  birds,  fishes,  horses,  flowers,  trees, 
and  men. 

Mr.  Eeed  gave  us  some  little  tin 
pans.  There  were  round  pans,  and 
square  ones,  pans  like  little  baskets, 
and  pans  with  scalloped  edges. 

It  was  fun  to  fill  the  pans  and  to 
spread  them  out  to  cool.  It  was  more 
fun  to  carry  home  the  maple  sugar  I 
had  helped  to  make! 

74 


StoriesfortheSpring 


The  Little  Brook 

A  little  brook  lay  half  asleep.  The 
trees  were  bare.  No  birds  were  singing 
to  him.     He  felt  sad  and  lonely. 

One  day  he  had  a  dream.  He 
seemed  to  hear  some  one  calling.  He 
hurried  over  the  pebbles.  The  warm 
spring  sun  smiled  at  him.  In  a  tree 
close  by,  was  an  old  friend.  It  was  a 
robin  singing  merrily. 

His  dream  was  true !  Spring  and  the 
robins  had  come! 

The  brook  called  to  the  willow  bush, 
as  he  passed  by.     "  Pussy  Willow,  wake 

up!"  he  said. 

77 


Pussy  Willow  began  to  stir.  "It 
must  be  time  to  awake,"  she  said. 
"The  brook  is  calling.  I  will  tell  the 
children  that  spring  is  coming." 

"I  am  glad  that  spring  is  here/'  said 
a  little  fish.  "It  has  been  very  cold 
all  winter.  I  have  lived  down  deep  in 
the  water.  Jack  Frost  made  a  door 
of  ice  to  our  house!  Now  our  ice  door 
is  melted.  Sunshine  is  making  the 
water  warm.  We  can  hide,  and  swim, 
and  play.  Don't  you  wish  that  you 
were  a  fish,  little  boy?" 

"Dear  brook,  where  did  you  come 
from?"  I  said. 

"I  used  to  live  down  in  the  ground," 
said  the  brook.     "One  day  I  pushed 

78 


I 


myself  up  through  the  earth.  Blue 
sky  was  above  me,  and  all  around  me 
was  green  grass, 

"I  started  down  the  hill  for  a  run. 
I  have  been  running,  running  ever 
since.  I  flow  through  grassy  meadows. 
The  cows  come  to  me  for  a  cool  drink. 


79 


Butterflies  wave  their  bright  wings 
over  me.  Little  children  sail  boats 
upon  my  surface. 

"The  birds  build  their  nests  in  trees 
close  by.  'Little  brook,  sing  to  us/ 
they  say  as  I  hurry  along.  So  I  sing 
and  dance  oyer  the  pebbles. 

"When  I  grow  stronger,  I  shall  be 
a  river,  a  mighty,  rushing  river.  I 
shall  carry  logs  to  the  mill  and  turn 
the  mill  wheels  round  and  round. 
Some  day  I  shall  reach  the  sea. 

"Now  that  my  door  of  ice  is  broken, 
I  must  hurry  on  my  way.  I  know 
that  my  friends  will  be  glad  to  see 
me.  I  can  not  stop  to  talk,  but  I  sing 
to  them  as  I  pass  by." 

80 


Pussy   Willow 

Pussy  Willow  has  been  asleep  all 
winter.  The  warm  spring  sun  called 
to  her  to  awake.  She  came  out  to  see 
the  world. 

The  birds  were  swinging  on  the 
branches.  A  few  brave  flowers  were 
opening  their  sleepy  eyes;  and  the 
grass  was  peeping  above  the  ground. 

"Is  it  time  I  awoke?"  said  Pussy 
Willow.  "The  wind  is  very  cold.  I 
will  keep  on  my  fur  hood  and  my 
little  brown  coat." 

"Good  morning,  Pussy  Willow," 
sang  the  brook. 

81 


"  Good  morning,  Pussy  Willow,"  sang 
the  birds.  "We  are  glad  to  see  you. 
Now  we  know  that  spring  is  here." 

Have  you  heard  how  Pussy  Willow 
came  to  have  her  name  ?   I  will  tell  you. 

Long  ago,  in  a  far-away  city,  there 
were  a  great  many  cats.  The  people 
in  this  city  loved  their  cats  and  never 
let  any  one  harm  them. 

When  the  city  was  very  old,  a  great 
flood  came.  It  rained  many  days  and 
the  water  rose  higher  and  higher  in 
the  streets. 

Now,  cats  do  not  like  water,  you 
know.  So  when  the  ground  grew  wet 
and  muddy  they  tried  to  find  trees  into 
which  they  might  climb. 

82 


The  big  cats  remembered  a  forest  a 
long  way  from  the  city.  So  they 
started  on  the  run  for  the  forest. 

The  kittens  started  too,  but  they 
could  not  run  fast.  Their  little  legs 
grew  tired  trying  to  run  through  the 
deep  mud.  So  when  they  came  to  a 
row  of  willow  trees  by  a  river,  they 
just  climbed  up  on  the  branches  and 
went  to  sleep. 

83 


It  rained  and  rained.  The  water  rose 
higher  and  higher.  The  wind  blew 
and  splashed  mud  over  the  kittens.  - 

At  last  the  rain  stopped.  The  kittens 
were  still  inside  their  mud  coats. 

Then  the  sun  came  out  and  dried 
their  coats  until  they  cracked. 

One  by  one,  the  kittens  awoke  and 
put  their  heads  through  the  cracks. 
They  saw  that  the  water  had  gone. 
They  were  alive  and  safe.  If  you  look 
at  the  willow  bushes  down  by  the  river 
to-day,  you  will  see  the  pussies  upon 
the  branches.  They  will  make  you 
think  of  the  kittens  of  that  old  city 
and  the  way  that  they  lived  safely 
through  the  flood. 

84 


The  Echoing  Green 

The  sun  doth  arise, 

And  make  happy  the  skies ; 

The  merry  bells  ring, 

To  welcome  the  spring; 

The  skylark  and  thrush, 

The  birds  of  the  bush, 

Sing  louder  around 

To  the  bell's  cheerful  sound; 

While  our  sports  shall  be  seen 

On  the  echoing  green. 

Old  John  with  white  hair. 
Does  laugh  away  care, 
Sitting  under  the  oak. 
Among  the  old  folk. 
They  laugh  at  our  play. 

And  soon  they  all  say, 
85 


"Such,  such  were  the  joys 
When  we  all — girls  and  boys — 
In  our  youth  time  were  seen 
On  the  echoing  green." 

Till  the  little  ones,  weary, 

No  more  can  be  merry; 

The  sun  doth  descend. 

And  our  sports  have  an  end. 

Round  the  laps  of  their  mothers 

Many  sisters  and  brothers. 

Like  birds  in  their  nest, 

Are  ready  for  rest. 

And  sport  no  more  seen 

On  the  darkening  green. 

William   Blake 


86 


The   Robins   Are   Here 

"Eobin  is  here.  Oh,  mother,  see 
him  hop  about  in  the  snow.  He  is  try- 
ing to  find  his  breakfast.  Brave  little 
robin  shall  have  some  crumbs "  said 
Mary  as  she  opened  the  window. 

"Cheer  up!  chee,  chee!"  sang  robin. 
I  think  he  tried  to  say,  "You  are  a 
good  girl.  It  is  hard  to  find  a  break- 
fast with  snow  on  the  ground.     I  have 

come  from  the  sunny  south.     It  is  cold 

87 


here,  but  my  feathers  will  keep  me 
warm. 

"Shall  I  tell  you  a  secret,  little 
Mary?  The  bluebirds  will  soon  be 
here.  Spring  is  coming;  I  know  it,  I 
know  it,  I  know  it! 

"I  must  look  about  for  our  new 
home.  There  are  many  good  places 
in  which  to  build.  There  is  room  for 
all  my  friends  to  build  new  homes  too. 

"Last  year  I  lived  in  the  apple  tree. 
It  was  a  good  place  for  robins,  for  not 
far  away  there  was  a  cherry  tree. 
Mother  robin  and  I  had  a  great  feast 
on  those  cherries! 

"  I  think  I  will  look  at  the  apple  tree." 
So  away  to  the  orchard  flew  robin. 

88 


He  found  the  apple  tree  still  there, 
but  there  was  nothing  left  of  the  old 
nest.  If  it  had  been  there,  I  do  not 
think  that  robin  could  have  lived  in  it. 
Do  you  know  why? 

Mother  robin  will  come  soon.  They 
will  build  the  new  house  together. 
They  will  find  straw  near  the  barn,  and 
bits  of  string  in  the  yard. 

Father  robin  will  plaster  his  house 
with  mud,  and  line  it  with  horsehair. 

How  hard  they  work  till  the  nest 
is  done!  Mother  robin  sits  inside  and 
turns  round  and  round.  She  fits  the 
nest  to  her  body.  Father  robin  sits 
near  by  and  watches.  They  are  proud 
of  the  new  home. 

89 


By  and  by  there  will  be  some  eggs, 
lovely  blue  eggs,  as  blue  as  the  sky. 
Mother  robin  will  keep  the  eggs  warm. 
Father  robin  will  find  worms  for  her, 
and  he  will  sing  his  prettiest  song 
"Cheer  up!  chee-chee-chee ! " 

Some  day  the  baby  robins  will  come. 
What  busy  days  the  mother  and  father 
will  have  then!  They  will  have  to 
find  many  worms  to  fill  those  four 
wide  opened  mouths. 


90 


Tap !   Tap !   Tap ! 

Tap,  tap,  tap!  Who  is  making  that 
noise?  Tap,  tap,  tap!  I  hear  it  again. 
Is  it  a  carpenter  with  his  hammer? 
Oh,  now  I  see.  It  is  a  woodpecker. 
He  is  over  there  on  the  trunk  of  the 
maple  tree. 

What  is  that  he  is  saying?  "No 
breakfast  here.  This  bark  is  hard." 
Down  sat  woodpecker  to  think. 

Then  away  to  the  pear  tree  he  flew. 
Part  of  the  tree  was  decayed. 

"I  will  find  my  breakfast  here,"  he 
said.  "There  must  be  some  bugs 
under  this  bark." 

91 


Sure  enough,  he  found  some. 

Then  he  flew  to  the  apple  tree.  It 
was  fun  to  see  him  hang  by  his  toes 
on  the  under  side  of  a  branch. 

"This  is  the  place  for  me  to  build," 
he  thought.  "It  is  dry  and  soft,  and 
just  the  place  for  a  nest.  It  will  take 
a  long  time  to  build  our  little  house, 
but  when  it  is  done, 
my  little  wife  will  be 
happy." 


92 


Your  black  and  white  feathers  are 
pretty,  woodpecker.  I  like  that  red 
cap  on  the  back  of  your  head.  That 
is  the  way  my  little  brother  Tom  wears 
his  cap. 

Here  is  mother  woodpecker.  She 
looks  like  the  father  bird  but  she  has 
no  pretty  red  cap.  She  lays  six  snow- 
white  eggs  in  the  nest. 

The  father  bird  stands  near  by.  He 
drums  to  the  mother  bird,  while  she 
keeps  her  eggs  warm.  He  would  like 
to  sing  to  her  but  he  does  not  know 
how. 

Do  you  remember  the  story  of  the 
little  old  woman  in  her  black  dress, 
her  white  apron,  and  red  cap? 

93 


She  was  making  some  cakes,  one  day, 
when  an  old  beggar  came  along. 

"Pray  give  me  something  to  eat," 
he  said. 

Now  the  old  woman  was  very  sel- 
fish. She  broke  off  a  tiny  bit  of  one 
cake  and  gave  it  to  the  old  man.  It 
was  not  enough.     He  asked  for  more. 

The  little  old  woman  shook  her 
head.  "Yon  cannot  have  any  more," 
she  said.     "I  want  the  cakes  myself." 

Then  a  strange  thing  happened. 
Her  black  dress  and  white  apron  were 
changed  to  feathers. 

Up  the  chimney  she  flew,  a  red- 
headed woodpecker.  Now  she  must 
find  her  food  under  the  bark  of  trees. 

94 


How  Do  You  Do,  Brown  Bear? 

A  little  boy  once  had  a  dream.  In 
his  dream  he  thought  he  was  walking 
alone  in  the  woods.  He  was  a  braye 
boy,  but  he  did  not  like  being  alone. 

He  knew  that  bears  sometimes  lived 
in  woods  and  he  wondered  what  he 
should  do  if  he  met  one. 

He  thought  at  first  that  he  would 
run.  Then  he  thought  that  perhaps 
the  bear  could  run  faster. 

Then  he  thought  that  he  would 
hide.  He  seemed  to  see  the  bear 
smelling  his  tracks  along  the  ground 
until    he    came   to   his   hiding   place. 

95 


"And  then/'  thought  the  boy,  "I  should 
be  too  frightened  to  move." 

At  last  he  said,  "I  think  that  if  I 
met  a  bear  I  should  climb  a  tree.  I 
wonder  if  bears  can  climb  trees."  And 
while  he  was  wondering  he  heard  a 
rustle  among  the  leaves. 

He  looked  up,  and  right  before  him 
in   the  path   was   a  big,  brown  bear! 


The  little  boy  did  not  have  time  to 
hide!  He  did  not  have  time  to  run! 
He  could  not  even  try  to  climb  a  tree! 
He  just  stood  and  looked  at  the  bear, 
and  the  bear  looked  at  the  boy. 

The  boy  said,  "How  do  you  do, 
brown  bear?  Where  did  you  come 
from?'' 

And  the  bear  said,  "How  do  you  do, 
boy?  I  have  just  come  from  my  cave. 
I  have  been  asleep  all  winter.  I  did 
not  like  the  cold  days  of  winter.  Even 
my  thick  fur  could  not  keep  out  the 
cold  wind.  I  curled  myself  up  into  a 
big  ball.     I  slept  all  winter  long. 

"I  hid  in  my  cave  among  the  rocks. 
The  snow  made  a  door  to  my  cave. 

97 


"I  knew  that  spring  had  come.  I 
awoke  and  looked  about.  I  am  hungry. 
I  have  had  nothing  to  eat  all  winter." 

"That's  too  bad,  brown  bear,"  said 
the  boy.     "What  can  you  eat  here?" 

"Oh,  I  shall  find  roots  and  berries. 
I  shall  drink  from  the  brook.  If  you 
will  come  with  me,  I  will  show  you  my 
roots  and  berries,  and  you  may  have  a 
drink  from  my  brook." 

The  little  boy  started  after  the  bear, 
but  he  never  reached  the  brook. 

Do  you  know  why? 


98 


D'kG' 


Dandelions 

I  am  a  dandelion.  Are  you  glad  to 
see  me?  Are  you  not  glad  that  spring 
is  coming?  I  heard  the  robins  sing- 
ing, "Wake  up,  little  dandelion."  So 
I  came  up  near  the  roadside. 

I  felt  the  gentle  south  wind.  He  said, 
"Time  to  awake,  dandelion."  Then  I 
saw  the  sun.  I  liked  his  smiling  face. 
So  I  tried  to  be  like  him. 

99 


By  and  by  I  had  ever  so  many 
brother  and  sister  dandelions  near  me, 
in  the  lawn  and  in  the  fields. 

We  like  to  grow  in  the  green  grass. 
My  leaves  are  good  to  eat. 

What  time  do  you  get  up,  Charlie? 

You  would  have  to  get  up  very  early 
to  catch  a  dandelion  sleeping.  We 
wake  up  with  the  sun.  Did  you  ever 
see  the  sun  come  up  in  the  sky?  We 
have. 

We  go  to  sleep  and  close  our  eyes  in 
the  evening,  just  when  the  birds  and 
children  are  going  to  bed. 

Did  you  ever  try  to  make  curls  from 
our  stems?  Did  you  ever  try  to  make 
dandelion  chains? 

100 


Our  stems  have  a  wlilte  sap  iii  fliem. 
It  tastes  bitter,  and  it  will  stain  your 
fingers  if  you  get  it  on  them. 

Children  like  to  carry  us  to  school. 
We  are  afraid  to  go  so  far  away  from 
our  homes.  We  sometimes  shut  our 
eyes  on  the  w^ay. 

When  we  grow  old,  we  have  gray 
hair.  A  little  girl  found  some  dande- 
lions that  had  gone  to  seed.  They 
looked  like  white  fluffy  balls. 

The  little  girl  said,  "I  will  see  if 
mother  wants  me."  So  she  blew  the 
fluffy  ball  three  times.  One,  two, 
three!  She  blew  all  the  little  seeds 
away.      She  said,  "My  mother  wants 


me." 


101 


Siire  enoiigli,  her  mother  wanted  her. 
Her  mother  said,  "  Why,  Alice,  how  did 
you  know  that  I  wanted  you?" 

Alice  said,  "The  dandelion  told  me 
that  you  were  calling.  I  blew  three 
times,  and  I  blew  all  the  seeds  away. 
Then  I  came  home." 

The  other  girls  blew  the  seeds  too, 
but  their  mothers  did  not  want  them. 

Do  you  know  how  they  could  tell? 


How  We  Came  To  Have  Buttercups 

Some  people  think  that  there  is  a 
pot  of  gold  at  the  end  of  the  rainbow. 
There  is  no  pot  of  gold  there  now,  for 
long  ago  somebody  found  it. 

Nobody  knows  how  this  man  found 
it,  for  many  people  who  have  tried  to 
find  the  end  of  the  rainbow  say  that 
the  rainbow  has  no  end  at  all. 

The  man  who  found  the  pot  of  gold 
was  very  selfish.  He  did  not  want 
any  one  to  know  that  he  had  found  it. 
He  wanted  to  keep  all  the  gold  for 
himself. 

One  very  dark  night,  he  put  all  his 
gold  into  a  bag.     Do  you  know  what 

103 


he  was  going  to  do?  He  was  going 
to  hide  it  in  some  thick  woods  not  far 
from  his  house. 

He  slung  the  bag  over  his  shoulder. 
He  walked  across  the  meadow  toward 
the  woods. 

Now  there  was  something  in  that 
bag  which  the  selfish  man  had  not 
seen.  It  was  a  hole.  As  he  walked 
on,  the  gold  pieces  fell  out,  one  by  one. 

By  and  by  he  reached  the  wood. 
He  took  his  bag  off  his  shoulder.  It 
felt  very  light.  He  looked  inside! 
There  was  no  gold! 

He  hurried  back  to  the  meadow  to 
try  to  find  it.  The  moon  was  shining. 
That  helped  him  to  find  his  way. 

104 


But  the  fairies  had  been  out  dancing 
that  night.  They  were  good  fairies, 
and  they  did  not  like  selfish  people. 

They  said,  "If  the  selfish  man  finds 
his  gold,  it  will  do  nobody  any  good. 
If  he  hides  it  away,  that  will  not  help 
any  one." 

Then  the  fairies  all  said,  "Let  us 
change  the  gold  into  something  that 
will  make  every  one  happy." 

The  selfish  man  looked  here  and 
there  in  the  grass  for  his  lost  gold. 
He  could  not  find  a  single  piece,  but  in 
its  place  were  bright  yellow  flowers. 


105 


The   Busy   Farmer 

My  father  is  a  farmer.  When 
spring  comes  a  farmer  is  very  busy. 
I  can  tell  you  some  of  the  things  he 
has  to  do,  for  I  sometimes  help  him. 

Last  year's  leaves  are  about  the  yard 
and  garden.  These  are  to  be  raked. 
That  is  something  that  I  can  do. 

Then  we  gather  the  twigs  and  sticks 
that  have  been  broken  from  the  trees 
and  bushes  by  the  winter  wind. 

In  the  autumn  father  put  straw 
around  the  trees  and  bushes. 

In  the  spring  the  straw  is  not 
needed,  so  we  rake  it  off. 

106 


By  this  time  we  have  gathered 
many  leaves,  broken  twigs,  branches, 
and  straw.  We  put  them  all  into  a 
wheelbarrow  and  wheel  it  to  the 
meadow  behind  the  barn. 

Do  you  know  what  we  do  then? 
We  have  a  good  big  bonfire! 

In  our  yard  we  have  some  flower 
beds.  These  must  be  spaded  up.  The 
ground  is  so  hard  that  no  seed  could 
grow  in  it.  Father  turns  the  earth 
over  and  over  with  his  spade.  This 
loosens  the  earth  and  makes  it  soft. 

If  a  farmer  has  a  great  field  to  plant, 
he  loosens  the  earth  with  a  plow. 

In  some  parts  of  our  country  oxen  drag 
the  plow,  but  my  father  uses  a  horse. 

107 


When  father  begins  to  plow,  you 
would  laugh  to  see  the  hens  and 
chickens  follow  him.  Do  you  know 
what  they  are  looking  for?  In  the 
newly  turned  earth,  they  will  find  nice 
large  worms  for  their  breakfast. 


When  the  ground  is  ready,  the 
farmer  plants  his  seeds.  Now  the 
blackbirds  and  the  crows  follow  him. 
They  will  eat  the  seeds  if  they  can. 
So  father  puts  up  a  scarecrow.  The 
birds  think  that  the  scarecrow  is  the 
farmer,  and  they  do  not  dare  to  steal 
his  seed. 

Seeds  need  air,  sunshine,  and  rain. 
If  there  is  no  rain,  the  farmer  must 
water  his  seeds  with  a  hose  or  with  a 
watering  pot. 

He  must  keep  his  garden  free  from 
weeds. 

I  will  show  you  my  father's  tools. 
Just  now  he  is  using  his  rake,  spade, 
hoe,  plow,  pitchfork,  and  harrow. 

109 


When  the  Rain  Conies 

Once  there  was  a  little  raindrop. 
He  lived  up  in  a  big  gray  cloud.  He 
had  many  brothers  and  sisters.  They 
were  a  very  happy  family. 

One  night  little  raindrop  could  not 
go  to  sleep.     "I  will  run  away,"  he  said. 

So  he  started  from  his  cloud  home. 

But  the  other  raindrops  felt  him  go. 
"He  will  get  lost,"  they  said.  "We 
must  run  after  our  brother."  So  they 
came  down  to  earth,  too. 

The  flowers  lifted  their  heads.  The 
ducks  paddled  in  the  pond.  The  brook 
rushed  faster  and  faster. 

110 


The  river  made  the  old  mill  wheel 
turn  round  and  round. 

Some  of  the  raindrops  sank  into  the 
ground  and  made  the  thirsty  roots  glad. 

The  old  brown  horse  found  a  cool 
drink  in  the  rushing  brook. 

But  the  squirrel  was  not  so  happy 
when  the  raindrops  came.  IJe  hid 
behind  his  bushy  tail. 

Pussy  did  not  like  the  raindrops. 
She  ran  into  the  house  and  dried  her 
wet  fur  by  the  kitchen  stove. 

The  little  children  ran  to  school. 

Their  mother  shut  the  windows. 

Father  opened  his  big  umbrella. 

The  policeman  put   on   his   rubber 

cape. 

Ill 


But  the  big  boy  who  looked  like  our 
John,  put  on  his  rubber  boots  and  said, 
"Now  I'll  walk  in  all  the  puddles." 


112 


For  a  long  time  the  raindrops  stayed. 
They  thought  the  earth  a  beautiful 
place.  They  said  "Let  us  stay  here 
always." 

Just  then  Father  Sun  came  out  from 
behind  the  gray  clouds. 

"  Come,  little  raindrops,  down  there  on 
the  earth.     It  is  time  to  come  home." 

Do  you  know  what  those  raindrops 
did?  Some  hid  in  the  earth!  Some 
jumped  into  the  brook  and  tried  to 
swim  away! 

But  Father  Sun  was  stronger  than 
they.  He  called  again.  They  had  to 
come.  Into. a  pretty  white  boat  he  put 
them,  and  the  wind  gently  sailed  them 
across  the  sky. 

113 


The  Old  Toad 

He  lives  under  the  stone.  He  has 
been  asleep  all  winter.  The  warm 
sun  called  to  him,  and  he  awoke  from 
his  long  winter  nap. 

The  fimny  old  fellow  gets  up  and 
changes  his  dress.  He  rolls  his  old 
clothes  into  a  ball.  What  do  you  think 
he  does  then?  He  stuffs  the  clothes 
down  his  throat!     Isn't  that  strange? 

114 


Your  new  clothes  are  wrinkled,  old 
toad.  I  do  not  think  that  they  fit  you 
very  well. 

This  toad  is  very  hungry.  He  hopped, 
and  hopped,  until  he  came  to  a  garden. 

There  was  rich  earth  in  the  garden, 
and  plenty  of  bugs. 

In  the  house  near  the  garden  liyed 
a  little  girl.  One  day  about  five  o'clock 
the  girl  came  down  the  stone  steps  of 
her  house.  She  was  going  to  water 
her  plants  in  the  garden. 

Who  was  that  hopping  up  the  path- 
way? She  walked  very  softly  so  as 
not  to  frighten  her  visitor.  He  had 
on  his  wrinkled  coat.  His  big  mouth 
and  funny  eyes  made  the  girl  laugh. 

115 


Kitty  and  the  puppy  had  to  see 
what  the  trouble  was.  I  think  that 
they  would  have  liked  to  poke  the  toad 
with  their  paws. 


116 


Funny  old  hop-toad,  you  are  not 
afraid  of  these  big  creatures,  are  you? 
You  are  not  afraid  of  the  girl,  the  kitty, 
or  the  puppy. 

Hop  into  the  garden,  old  toad,  and 
catch  the  bugs.  They  will  eat  the 
roses.  You  would  better  have  the 
bugs  for  your  breakfast  or  supper. 

If  you  hop  toward  the  puppy,  he 
may  bark  at  you.  If  you  hop  toward 
the  kitty,  she  may  spit  at  you.  If  you 
hop  toward  the  girl,  she  will  go  into 
the  house. 

Blink  your  eyes,  old  toad.  You  are 
not  very  pretty,  though  you  may  be 
useful.  Eun  and  catch  your  bugs. 
Oh !  you  cannot  run.   You  can  only  hop. 

117 


Spring  Games 

The  girls  in  our  school  jump  rope  in 
the  yard.  Two  girls  swing  a  long  rope 
oyer  the  heads  of  the  girls  who  are  to 
jump.  When  the  rope  hits  the  ground, 
the  girls  jump.  They  must  jump  over 
the  rope  and  not  step  on  it. 

If  they  fail  to  jump,  they  must  stop 
playing.  The  girl  who  jumps  longest 
wins  the  game. 


118 


Every  spring  the  boys  play  marbles. 

One  game  is  called  '^  Bunny." 

This  is  how  the  game  is  played. 

A  small  cup-shaped  hole  is  dug  in 
the  ground.  The  ground  is  made 
smooth  around  the  hole. 

Each  boy  takes  the  same  number  of 
marbles.  Any  number  of  boys  can 
play.  They  stand  back  from  the  hole 
or  "  bunny/'  and  try  in  turn  to  throw 
their  marbles  into  it.  The  boy  who 
gets  the  most  in,  wins  all  the  marbles. 

Sometimes  a  boy  puts  a  glass  marble, 
or  "glassy,"  into  the  hole.  The  players 
stand  off  and  try  to  hit  the  "glassy." 
The  first  boy  who  hits  the  "glassy" 
becomes  its  new  owner. 

119 


Every  spring  the  boys  spin  tops  and 
play  ball.  I  can  not  spin  a  top.  My 
top  always  spins  on  its  head! 

My  brother  plays  baseball.  There 
are  eight  boys  who  play  with  him, 
and  nine  boys  who  play  against  him. 

They  play  with  a  hard  ball  made  of 
string,  covered  with  horsehide.  They 
have  a  hard  round  wooden  bat,  and  a 
thick  glove.  The  boy  who  catches 
the  ball  wears  a  mask. 

All  the  boys  dress  alike.  Their 
shoes  have  no  heels. 

The  boy  who  throws  the  ball  must 
throw  it  straight.  The  boy  with  the 
bat  will  hit  it,  and  some  boy  will  try 
to  catch  it. 

120 


Stories  for  theSummer 


No  matter  how  barren 

the  past  may  have 

been, 
Tis  enough  for  us  now 

that  the  leaves  are 

green ; 
We  may  shut  our  eyes, 

but  we  cannot  help 

knowing 
That  skies  are  clear, 

and  grass  is  growing. 
James  Russell  Lowell 


Ned's  Caterpillar 

Ned  found  a  large  caterpillar  in  the 
garden.  It  was  crawling  on  a  bush. 
He  carried  it  into  the  house. 

"Mother,  I  have  brought  you  a  visi- 
tor," he  said. 

"Let  us  put  it  into  this  glass  jar. 
Kun  into  the  garden,  Ned,  and  get 
a  little  dirt  and  some  fresh  leaves." 

Ned  did  as  his  mother  said.  Mother 
put  the  leaves  and  dirt  into  the  jar. 
Then  she  put  the  caterpillar  in  too. 

The   caterpillar  seemed  to  like  its 

new   home.     It   grew    fat    eating    so 

many  green  leaves. 

123  . 


One  day  it  hung  itself  up  on  one  of 
the  leaves  to  sleep.  After  a  while  its 
skin  with  the  black  and  yellow  stripes 
fell  off,  but  inside  was  a  soft  green 
blanket  to  keep  it  warm. 

The  caterpillar  slept  a  long  time. 
By  and  by  it  crawled  out  of  its  blanket. 
It  did  not  look  like  a  caterpillar. 

Do  you  know  what  had  happened? 
It  was  a  beautiful  butterfly. 

Ned  took  it  out  of  the  jar  gently  and 
held  it  in  his  hand. 

If  the  butterfly  could  have  talked  I 
think  it  would  have  said, "  Thank  you, 
Ned,  for  taking  me  out  of  the  jar.  It 
was  a  nice  home,  and  I  liked  those 
green  leaves. 

124 


"I  had  often  watched  butterflies 
when  I  was  in  the  garden.  They  sailed 
high  in  the  air  while  I  only  crawled. 

"  Then  I  went  to  sleep  and  dreamed 
that  I  was  a  butterfly.  It  was  such  a 
beautiful  dream  that  I  did  not  wish  to 
awake.  But  when  I  awoke,  I  found 
that  my  dream  was  true. 

"See  the  lovely  spots  on  my  wings 
as  I  spread  them  out.  I  can  not  fly  far 
yet,  but  I  am  happy  in  the  sunshine. 

"The  bees  and  the  birds  sing  to  me. 
The  flowers  say,  'We  love  you,  but- 
terfly.' I  whisper,  'I  love  you,  dear 
flowers.' 

"I  wish  you  had  wings,  Ned.  Fly- 
ing is  better  fun  than  walking." 

125 


Red  Clover 

Eed  Clover  is  here,  and  this  is  his 
little  sister,  White  Clover.  She  is 
sweeter  than  Eed  Clover,  and  smaller. 

Red  Clover  lives  in  the  meadow. 
Sometimes  he  grows  very  tall.  Daisies 
and  buttercups  are  his  friends. 

Eed  Clover  has  many  visitors  every 
day.  The  bees  and  the  butterflies  love 
him.    They  tell  him  stories  of  the  great 

126 


world  beyond  the  meadow.  He  gives 
them  sweet  nectar  from  his  many 
blossoms. 

The  farmer  likes  to  have  cloYer  in 
his  meadow.  It  is  good  for  his  cows. 
It  makes  the  milk  sweet  and  rich. 

Do  you  see  Red  Cloyer's  pretty  green 
leaf?  How  many  parts  can  you  count? 
In  that  leaf  there  are  three  parts.  Did 
you  ever  find  a  leaf  with  four  parts? 
Sometimes  there  are  five  parts  to  a 
clover  leaf. 

A  four  leaf  clover  means  good  luck. 
If  you  find  a  four  leaf  clover  you  must 
keep  it.  If  you  find  a  five  leaf  clover 
you  must  give  it  to  some  one.  Then 
he  will  have  good  luck  too. 

127 


There  is  a  story  about  a  four  leaf 
clover.     I  will  tell  it  to  you. 

A  man  said  that  if  he  could  find  a 
four  leaf  clover,  he  should  be  happy. 

To  find  the  four  leaf  clover  he  went 
here  and  there,  but  not  one  did  he  find. 

At  last  he  found  himself  growing 
old.  He  was  far  from  his  home.  He 
said,  "I  am  tired;  I  will  go  back  home." 

At  last  he  came  to  the  field  near  his 
house.  He  threw  himself  upon  the 
ground.    "I  can  go  no  farther,"  he  said. 

As  he  lay  on  the  ground,  what  do 
you  think  he  saw?  A  field  of  four 
leaf  clover!  He  had  been  the  whole 
world  over  to  find  it,  and  there  it  was 
at  his  very  door. 

128 


The   Daisies 

"  Our  friends  are  coming  to  see  us/' 
said  a  daisy  one  day.  "Coming  to  see 
lis,  coming  to  see  us,"  sang  all  the  dai- 
sies. Then  they  nodded  their  little 
heads  in  the  morning  breeze. 

Just  then  some  children  came  into 
the  field  with  baskets  on  their  arms. 
"Dear  little  daisies,"  said  the  children, 
"do  you  wish  to  go  a-yisiting?  Come, 
we  will  give  you  a  ride  in  our  baskets." 

In  tumbled  the  daisies,  laughing  at 
the  fun.     Then  one  daisy  began  to  talk. 

"Have  you  seen  our  tiny  green 
stems?"  she  said.     "Have  you  seen  our 

129 


lovely  white  frills  and  our  bright 
golden  centers?  We  have  some  cousins 
who  wear  yellow  frills  and  brown 
centers.  They  are  called  ox-eyed  daisies. 

"  We  always  come  in  the  spring.  We 
stay  until  the  autumn  comes. 

"Do  you  know  how  we  got  our 
name?  As  soon  as  the  sun  is  up,  we 
open  our  eyes.  People  say  that  we 
awake  with  the  day.  So  we  were 
called  'daisy,'  or  *  day's  eye.' 

"Before  the  stars  are  in  the  sky,  we 
go  to  sleep.  We  fold  our  white  frills 
over  our  golden  centers,  and  we  go  to 
sleep  just  like  you." 

A  man  wrote  a  poem  about  daisies. 
The  sky  made  him  think  of  a  meadow. 

130 


The  stars,  that  dotted  the  sky,  made 
him  think  of  little  white  daisies. 

While  he  was  thinking  of  this  pretty 
picture,  the  moon  came  out. 

He  thought  that  the  moon  looked 
like  a  lady  with  fair  hair.  "What  is 
the  lady  doing  up  there  in  the  sky- 
fields?"  said  he.  "Is  she  picking  the 
star  daisies?" 

In  the  morning,  when  he  awoke, 
there  was  not  a  star  left  in  the  sky. 

"Yes,"  thought  the  man,  "the  lady 
has  picked  them  all.  She  has  dropped 
them  down  into  the  meadows  of  the 
town." 


131 


The  Little  Dreamer 

A  little  boy  was  dreaming 

Upon  his  nurse's  lap 
That  the  pins  fell  out  of  all  the  stars, 

And  the  stars  fell  into  his  cap. 

So,  when  his  dream  was  over, 
What  should  this  little  boy  do? 

Why,  he  went  and  looked  inside  his  cap. 
And  found  it  wasn't  true. 

Robert  L.  Everett 


132 


'•■s     \    \  \  V  ■  ■:  /  •  ;  /  /  /  .• 


Ih     Can  You  Tell  My  Name? 


This  morning  I  was  up  before  you. 

When  I  rise  the  sky  grows  lighter; 
the  birds  begin  to  sing;  the  rooster 
begins  to  crow;  the  insects  begin  to 
hum,  and  the  flowers  smile  at  me. 

After  a  while  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren leave  their  homes  to  go  to  work. 

When  I  rise,  the  dew  is  on  the  grass. 
In  a  little  while  I  take  it  all  away. 

Without  me  the  world  would  be  dark 
and  cold.     I  give  you  heat  and  light. 

133 


I  often  hide  behind  some  cloud. 

You  can  not  catch  me ;  you  can  feel  me. 

If  I  shine  in  your  eyes  you  close 
them. 

At  night  I  go  to  visit  children  on 
the  other  side  of  the  world.  I  never 
go  to  sleep.  Somewhere  I  am  always 
shining  bright. 

When  night  comes  I  paint  the  clouds 
pink,  purple,  and  orange. 

I  seem  to  go  down  behind  the  hills. 

When  I  go  the  bees  fly  to  their  hives, 
the  birds  fly  to  their  nests,  and  the 
chickens  go  to  roost.  The  flowers  go 
to  sleep. 

The  animals  lie  down  in  the  fleld, 
and  the  sky  grows  dark. 

134 


After  a  while  the  stars  and  the  moon 
come  out.  One  by  one  the  lamps  are 
lighted,  ^the  dew  begins  to  fall,  little 
children  go  to  bed. 

In  summer  I  stay  with  you  a  long 
time.     In  winter  I  go  in  the  afternoon. 

At  noon  I  am  in  the  south.  At 
night  I  am  in  the  west.  In  the  morn- 
ing I  am  in  the  east. 

I  have  many  children.  They  are 
called  "beams."  I  send  them  down  to 
earth  from  my  sky  home.  I  send  them 
to  visit  you.  They  travel  very  fast. 
They  always  travel  in  a  straight  line. 
They  chase  away  the  dark.  They 
make  children  grow. 

Who  can  tell  my  name? 

135 


The  Rainbow 

All  day  long  the  Sun  Fairies  had  been 
busy,  making  the  world  briglii.  "We 
wish  we  might  stay  here/'  they  said. 

But  Father  Sun  knew  better.  "  Come," 
he  said.  "All  day  you  have  been  busy. 
The  flowers  were  happy  to  see  you,  and 
so  were  the  children.    But  so  many  Sun 


136 


Fairies  have  made  the  earth  warm. 
Come,  hide  behind  the  big  gray  cloud." 

Then  the  Rain  Fairies  gave  the 
thirsty  flowers  a  drink.  They  covered 
the  hot  and  dusty  ground,  and  called 
the  gentle  breeze  to  refresh  the  tired 
people. 

"Well  done,  my  little  Eain  Fairies," 
said  Father  Sun. 

"Put  on  your  prettiest  dresses,  and 
work  now  with  the  Sun  Fairies." 

In  gay  colors  the  fairies  came:  red, 
yellow,  orange,  blue,  green,  and  purple. 

"We  will  work  together,  dear  Father 
Sun,"  they  said,  and  joining  hands  they 
made  a  beautiful  arch  from  earth  to 
heaven.    We  call  this  arch  the  rainbow. 

137 


Little  May 

Have  you  heard  the  waters  singing, 

Little  May, 
Where  the  willows  green  are  bending 

O'er  their  way? 
Do  you  know  how  low  and  sweet, 
O'er  the  pebbles  at  their  feet. 
Are  the  words  the  waves  repeat, 

Night  and  day? 

Have  you  heard  the  robins  singing. 

Little  one. 
When  the  rosy  dawn  is  breaking, — 

When  'tis  done? 
Have  you  heard  the  wooing  breeze. 
In  the  blossomed  orchard  trees, 
And  the  drowsy  hum  of  bees 

Li  the  sun? 

Emily  Huntington  Miller 


138 


The  Bees 

We  are  bees,  and  we  live  in  a  little 
round  house  called  a  hiye.  Do  you  see 
our  brothers  and  sisters  flying  in  and 
out?     We  are  a  large  family. 

We  are  always  busy.     Do  you  know 

139 


what  we  sing  as  we  work?  "Buzz, 
buzz,  buzz,"  that  is  our  song. 

We  visit  Clover  in  the  meadow,  and 
Eose  in  the  garden.  Sometimes  we 
meet  our  friends,  the  butterflies. 

Some  day  you  may  like  to  look  into 
our  hive.  Do  not  come  too  near  us,  for 
we  may  sting  you. 

Did  you  ever  see  so  many  rooms 
in  one  house?  Some  are  storerooms, 
but  some  are  used  for  our  baby  bees. 
When  the  rooms  are  filled,  we  close 
them  up  with  wax.  We  make  the  wax 
on  cloudy  or  rainy  days. 

On  our  legs  we  have  little  baskets. 
In  these  we  carry  the  yellow  dust,  or 
pollen,  that  we  get  from  the  flowers. 

140 


We  mix  the  pollen  with  honey  and 
feed  it  to  our  baby  bees. 

There  are  three  kinds  of  bees  in 
every  hive,  —  the  workers,  the  drones, 
and  the  queen  bee. 

Our  queen  is  the  mother  bee.  She 
lays  all  the  eggs.  She  stays  at  home 
all  the  time,  and  we  worker  bees  feed 
her.  We  take  care  of  her.  She  has 
short  wings.     She  could  not  fly  far. 

The  drones  do  not  work.  They  are 
large  and  lazy.     We  workers  are  small. 

From  our  wax,  people  make  candles, 
and  dolls.  You  may  find  a  piece  of 
wax  in  mother's  work  basket.  She  rubs 
it  on  her  thread  to  make  it  strong. 
Have  you  ever  eaten  our  honey? 

141 


The  Moon  and  the  Stars 

As  soon  as  the  great  golden  sun  goes 
to  bed,  the  moon  awakes.  See  how 
she  gently  pushes  her  beautiful  cloud 
curtains  apart!  There  is  her  round 
face,  smiling  at  us. 

O  moon,  I  love  to  see  you  away  up 
in  the  sky.  Sometimes  you  sail  along 
so  swiftly.  Sometimes  you  play  hide- 
and-seek  behind  the  great  white  clouds. 

142 


Are  the  stars  your  children,  Lady 
Moon?  What  a  big  family  you  have! 
More  little  children  than  we  can  count. 
Do  you  ever  rock  the  baby  stars  to  sleep 
in  your  pretty  cradle? 

All  night  your  little  stars  are  busy. 
They  peep  in  at  our  windows  and 
watch  us  while  we  sleep.  They  shine 
upon  the  birds  asleep  in  their  nests. 
They  twinkle  through  the  trees.  They 
show  sailors  how  to  steer  their  boats. 

Long,  long  ago  the  stars  used  to  sing 
together.  The  whole  sky  shone  when 
they  sang.  One  morning  they  heard 
a  new  song.  It  was  the  most  beautiful 
song  they  had  ever  heard.  Every  star 
in  the  deep  blue  sky  stopped  singing. 

143 


In  the  deepest  blue  of  the  sky, 
they  saw  a  new  star.  It  was  the 
new  star  that  was  singing  the  beau- 
tiful song. 

And  this  is  what  it  sang,  "A  loving 
child,  a  loving  child  is  on  the  earth." 

Then  the  beautiful  star  traveled 
across  the  sky,  until  it  came  to  a  little 
town.     There  it  stood  still. 

The  stars  are  still  looking  for  a  lov- 
ing child.  That  is  why  they  peep  in 
at  the  window  and  ask,  "Is  this  a  lov- 
ing child?" 

Sometimes  they  find  a  loving  child, 
with  a  gentle  heart  and  kind  ways. 

Then  they  sing  again,  "A  loving 
child,  a  loving  child  is  on  the  earth." 

144 


Down  the  Lane 

There  was  once  an  old  willow  tree. 
It  grew  in  the  lane  behind  our  house. 
How  we  children  loved  it! 

It  had  low  spreading  branches  that 
seemed  like  mother's  arms. 

In  the  morning,  after  breakfast,  we 
would  run  to  our  tree,  and  as  soon  as 
school  was  over,  we  would  visit  it. 

On  Saturday  the  tree  was  our  play- 
house. The  branches  were  the  rooms. 
We  had  a  parlor,  dining  room,  kitchen 
and  two  bedrooms.  We  had  green 
curtains  at  the  windows.  Do  you 
know  what  the  curtains  really  were? 

145 


Our  dolls  had  a  nap  in  the  morning. 
We  undressed  them  and  hung  their 
clothes  upon  the  branches.  We  had 
two  doll's  hammocks.  We  put  our 
dolls  into  the  hammocks  and  covered 
them  with  their  blankets.  Then  we 
sang,  "Eock-a-bye,  baby,"  to  them. 
The  wind  rocked  them  to  sleep. 

146 


Sometimes  my  brother  Jack  came  to 
play  with  us.    Then  we  played  church. 

Jack  was  the  minister.  My  father 
was  a  minister,  so  Jack  tried  to  be  like 
him.  He  would  stand  upon  a  high 
branch  and  preach.  Then  he  would 
say,  "Let  us  sing."  Sometimes  the 
birds  sang  too. 

The  dolls  were  very  good.  They 
could  not  sing,  but  they  sat  still  in 
their  mothers'  laps. 

Once  my  dolly  fell  asleep.  That 
was  when  Jack  preached  too  long. 
Mary's  doll  cried  once.  Poor  doll! 
Was  she  too  little  to  go  to  church? 
No,  what  do  you  think  was  the  matter? 
She  had  lost  one  of  her  pink  shoes. 

147 


The  Picnic 

I  am  glad  that  this  is  vacation. 
Father  has  come  home  early  to-day. 
We  are  all  going  on  a  picnic. 

We  are  going  in  the  big  automobile. 
We  are  going  ten  miles  to  the  country. 
It  is  my  birthday.  I  have  invited  five 
of  my  friends  to  go  on  the  picnic. 

Jump  in,  boys  and  girls,  we  are 
ready  to  start.  We  are  off  to  the 
woods.  Kate,  Mary,  Alice,  and  I  will 
sit  in  the  back  seat.  Tom  and  John 
will  sit  in  the  chairs. 

Mother  and  father  will  sit  in  front. 

Father  toots  the  horn.     We  are  off. 

148 


We  go  fast,  but  we  are  not  afraid. 

The  cool  breeze  blows  our  hair.  Oh, 
dear,  Mary  has  lost  her  hat.  John  will 
jump  out  and  get  it.  It  is  covered 
with  dust.     Tie  your  hat  on,  Mary. 

Mother  has  filled  the  big  basket 
with  good  things  to  eat.  It  is  on  the 
back  of  our  automobile.  I  am  hungry 
every  time  I  think  of  that  basket! 

Here  we  are  in  the  woods.  The 
road  is  not  very  good.  Father  will 
make  the  automobile  go  slowly  now. 

This  is  as  far  as  we  can  go.  "All 
out! "says  father. 

Here  is  a  good  place  for  our  supper, 
under  the  pine  trees.  The  pine  needles 
make  a  soft  carpet. 

149 


"Let  us  spread  the  tablecloth  here." 

Father  unstraps  the  big  basket.  He 
pulls  the  tin  pail  from  under  the  seat. 

"Boys,  run  down  to  the  brook  for 
some  fresh,  cool  water.  We  are  going 
to  make  some  lemonade,"  he  says. 

We  put  stones  on  the  corners  of  the 
tablecloth  so  it  will  not  blow. 

Let  us  find  some  large  leaves  for 
plates.  Yes,  and  let  us  pick  a  few 
flowers  for  our  table. 

What  is  in  this  box?  Cut  the  string 
please,  Kate.    Oh,  these  are  sandwiches. 

Here  are  the  hard  boiled  eggs!  Here 
are  the  cookies!  Here  are  the  pickles! 
Here  is  some  cake!  Oh,  isn't  it  fun  to 
have  a  picnic  in  the  woods ! 

150 


I  am  going  to  ask  father  if  we  can 
stay  until  the  moon  comes  up. 
What  do  you  think  he  will  say? 


151 


Where  Tom  Spent  His  Vacation 

Tom  went  to  the  farm  to  see  his 
grandfather  last  summer. 

Every  morning  a  rooster  would  crow 
under  Tom's  window.  Tom  would 
laugh  and  say,  "It  is  time  to  get  up. 
You  want  your  breakfast,  old  rooster." 

As  soon  as  Tom  was  dressed,  he  would 
go  to  the  barn,  and  fill  his  cap  with  corn 
to  feed  the  chicks.     How  they  ran! 

How  fast  they  ate!  Tom  gave  them 
a  good  breakfast. 


Next  Tom  would  visit  the  old  mother 
pig  in  her  pen.  He  would  rub  her  back 
with  a  stick.  There  were  ten  baby 
pigs  with  curly  tails. 

Sometimes  Tom  would  go  haying 
with  the  men.  He  would  climb  into 
the  hayrack  and  stamp  the  hay  as  the 
men  threw  it  up  with  their  pitchforks. 

When  the  hayrack  was  filled,  Tom 
would  have  a  ride  home  on  the  load. 

Every  night  Tom  went  to  see  the 
cows  milked.  After  a  while  he  could 
milk  old  Molly  himself.  She  would 
give  him  two  pails  of  milk  every  night. 

Tom  liked  to  visit  the  dairy  best  of 
all.  The  dairy  was  in  a  stone  house. 
Even  the  walls  and  floors  were  of  stone. 

153 


Tom  loved  to  watch  his  grandmother 
make  butter.  First  she  put  rich  milk 
into  a  churn.     A  churn  is  a  tall  barrel. 

Inside  the  churn  there  is  a  long 
handle.  Grandmother  moved  the  long 
handle  up  and  down.  By  and  by  the 
cream  came  to  the  top. 

The  cream  keeps  growing  thicker, 
and  at  last  it  turns  to  butter.  It  is 
fresh  and  sweet.     Some  of  it  is  salted. 

Tom  liked  to  see  his  grandmother 
make  the  butter  into  pretty  little  prints. 

When  the  butter  was  ready  for  use, 
grandfather  carried  it  to  the  railroad. 
It  was  sent  to  the  big  city. 

People  can  buy  the  butter  in  prints, 
boxes,  or  tubs. 

154 


Where  Fred  Spent  His  Vacation 

Fred  Jackson  went  to  the  seashore 
last  summer.  When  he  saw  the  ocean 
and  the  sandy  beach,  he  jumped  for  joy. 

"Oh,  mother,  what  a  fine  time  we 
shall  have!"  he  said. 

Every  morning  Fred  went  to  the 
beach.  He  loved  to  sit  on  the  rocks 
and  watch  the  waves  roll  in.  Often 
they  came  in  so  fast  that  Fred  had  to 

155 


<!>,\»re>T.flK3»od- 


go  higher  up  on  the  rocks.  "Do  the 
waves  ever  stop  to  rest?"  he  thought. 

On  the  beach  there  were  pretty 
shells,  and  starfish  and  snails  on  the 
rocks.  Big  horseshoe  crabs  and  jelly- 
fish moved  about  in  the  water,  and 
the  seaweed  drifted  in  on  the  waves. 

Sometimes  Fred  would  go  fishing. 

One  day  he  caught  a  fine  bluefish. 
He  carried  it  home  to  his  mother.  She 
said  it  was  the  best  fish  she  had  ever 
tasted. 

Another  day  Fred  visited  a  light- 
house. It  was  on  a  rocky  island  far 
out  at  sea. 

There  were  no  roads  on  the  island, 
only  rough  paths  made  by  the  sheep. 

157 


The  keeper  and  his  children  invited 
the  visitors  into  their  house. 

The  lighthouse  vras  like  a  tower. 
When  Fred  reached  the  top,  he  could 
see  far  out  on  the  ocean.  He  could 
see  ten  ships  with  their  white  sails. 

At  night  the  keeper  lighted  the 
lamp.  The  light  could  be  seen  far  out 
at  sea.  It  told  the  sailors  to  keep  their 
boats  off  the  rocks. 

But  the  best  fun  was  the  clambake. 
The  boys  dug  clams  when  the  tide  was 
out.  They  made  a  stone  oven  on  the 
beach,  and  cooked  the  clams  in  the  hot 
seaweed.  They  gathered  driftwood  and 
made  a  fine  bonfire.  It  burned  until 
the  waves  came  up  and  put  it  out. 

158 


Camping  Out 

Two  boys  had  a  camp  last  summer. 
They  built  the  camp  in  some  woods 
not  far  from  the  house.  They  chose  a 
beautiful  spot  for  the  camp.  It  was  on 
a  hill  among  the  pine  trees. 

First  they  chopped  down  some  of 
the  small  trees.  They  made  a  board 
floor.     Their  father  gave  them  a  tent. 

A  high  pole  held  the  tent  up.  The 
boys  tied  the  sides  of  the  tent  to  pegs. 
Not  a  drop  of  rain  could  get  in. 

Inside,  the  boys  had  two  cots.  They 
played  that  they  were  Indians  and  that 
the  tent  was  their  wigwam. 

159 


One  very  warm  night,  their  mother 
said  that  they  might  sleep  in  the  tent. 
The  boys  were  delighted.  They  carried 
out  two  blankets,  some  bread  and  butter, 
cookies,  and  cold  chicken  for  fear  they 
might  be  hungry  before  morning. 

160 


It  was  quite  dark  at  first  in  the  woods, 
but  by  and  by  the  moon  came  up.  It 
shone  through  the  trees,  and  the  boys 
were  glad  to  see  it. 

Old  Carlo  was  asleep  on  the  floor. 

It  was  very  still  out  in  the  woods. 
The  wind  rustled  the  leaves  on  the  trees. 
The  boys  could  hear  the  river  running 
over  the  stones.  They  were  a  long  time 
going  to  sleep.  Perhaps  they  wished 
that  they  were  safe  in  their  own  beds 
at  home. 

Carlo  began  to  bark  early  in  the 
morning.  When  the  boys  awoke,  he 
was  crawling  out  the  tent  door. 

What  do  you  think  Carlo  was  barking 
at?     A  gray  squirrel  was  up  in  a  tree. 

161 


Carlo  barked  and  barked  as  if  to  say, 
"Don't  you  know  that  I  am  taking  care 
of  this  camp?" 

The  boys  ran  down  to  the  river  for  a 
swim.  The  water  was  cold,  but  they 
jumped  in.  As  soon  as  they  were 
dressed,  they  started  for  the  house. 
They  hoped  that  they  were  not  late  for 
breakfast. 

When  they  reached  the  house,  the 
back  door  was  locked!  They  peeped  in 
the  kitchen  window.  What  time  do  you 
think  it  was?     It  was  just  five  o'clock! 

The  boys  climbed  up  the  back  porch, 
opened  a  window,  and  went  to  bed. 

162 


Little  Papoose 

Little  papoose  in  your  cradle  liigh, 
Swung  up  on  the  dancing  tree, 
Looking  up  at  the  starry  sky, 
Tell  me,  what  do  you  see? 
Shining  moon  with  his  face  so  bright. 
Watches  with  tender  smile. 
So  close  yom-  eyes  and  sleep  this  night. 
Sleep,  little  Lidian  child. 

Dream  then,  my  little  papoose  in  the  tree, 
Softly  your  cradle  swings. 
Father  is  hunting  a  rabbit  for  thee. 
While  mother  is  here  and  sings. 
Brother's  making  a  little  canoe 
Out  in  the  woods  so  wild. 
Every  one's  thinking,  dear  baby,  of  you, 
Sleep,  little  Indian  child. 

Nina  B.  Hartford 
163 


The  Indian  Baby  in  Summer 

The  Indian  baby  loves  the  summer 
time.  His  father  has  made  a  cradle 
for  him.  The  birch  tree  gives  its  bark 
to  make  the  cradle.  The  father  hangs 
it  on  the  lowest  branch  of  the  tree. 
The  gentle  summer  breeze  will  rock 

164 


the  baby's  cradle.  The  birds  will  sing 
him  to  dreamland. 

The  pine  needles  rustle  all  through 
the  night.     The  owl  hoots  in  the  trees. 

The  baby's  father  sleeps  on  the 
ground.  He  dreams  of  many  things. 
He  hopes  that  his  baby  will  grow  to 
be  a  great  chief  some  day.  He  longs 
to  teach  him  to  ride,  and  to  use  the 
bow  and  arrow. 

The  baby's  mother  sleeps  on  the 
ground,  too.  She  loves  her  little  pa- 
poose. She  would '  like  to  have  him 
stay  a  little  papoose  for  a  long  time. 

The  wood  is  dark,  but  they  are  not 
afraid.  The  moon  and  the  stars  shine 
through  the  trees  upon  the  little  child. 

165 


The  little  papoose  has  many  friends 
in  the  forest.  He  calls  to  the  birds 
from  his  cradle.  He  watches  the 
squirrel  jump  from  branch  to  branch. 

He  tries  to  catch  the  sun  with  his 
little  brown  hands. 

When  he  gets  a  little  older,  his 
mother  will  tell  him  stories.  She  will 
tell  him  stories  of  the  moon,  the  sun, 
and  the  stars.  She  will  tell  him  about 
the  rainbow.  She  will  tell  him  about 
the  forest. 


To-day  the  baby  watches  his  father 
make  a  canoe.  He  cuts  the  bark  from 
the  birch  tree,  and  he  does  not  break  it. 

He  takes  branches  and  makes  a 
framework.  He  stretches  the  bark 
over  the  framework.     Then  he  sews  it. 

He  gets  some  pitch  from  the  pine 
trees  and  fills  up  the  cracks.  Now  the 
water  can  not  get  into  the  canoe. 

He  is  proud  when  his  canoe  is  finished. 
It  rests  like  a  lily  upon  the  water. 
He  will  paddle  up  and  down  the  river. 
He  will  shoot  like  an  arrow  down 
the  stream. 

Will  the  little  papoose  and  his  mother 
go  in  the  canoe  some  day?  I  think  so. 
These  are  happy  days  for  the  papoose. 

167 


As  a  fond  mother, 
when  the  day  is 
o'er, 

Leads  by  the  hand  her 
little  child  to  bed, 

Half  willing,  half  re- 
luctant to  be  led, 

And  leave  his  broken 
playthings  on  the 
floor. 

Still   gazing    at    them 

through     the    open 

door. 

Longfellow 


13. 


■ica".:    :;k3- 


